A designer who worked on action-RPG Sacred 3 has stated that sequel’s divergence from the deeper gameplay of previous titles in the series was pushed by the marketing department of publisher Deep Silver.

Posting on the Steam Community page for Sacred 3, former Keen Games junior game designer Sascha Wagentrotz said, “The marketing department of Deep Silver was the only one with enough power to change the direction of the franchise.”

Wagentrotz publicly apologized to fans of the Sacred series, saying he was sorry that they “didn’t get the game they wanted to have.” He also posted a Steam key for Sacred 3 as an apologetic gesture to fans who were disappointed by the game. According to Wagentrotz, the story and “chatter writing” in the game was outsourced, and player actions were limited to accommodate couch cooperative at the behest of the “most influential stakeholder of the game.”

Sacred 3 was released last month for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 to lukewarm reception. The game was praised for colorful visuals and challenging boss fights, but received criticism in GameSpot’s review for its bland and repetitive level design.