They switched back and forth between their two "games" multiple times, each time stalling the half of crowd, which ordered the other product. Obviously the single player audience doesn't constantly pour money into this trainwreck, because JPEGs gain you nothing in a SP campaign.
But what's actually the point of making a set-piece roller coaster based on CE3 in 2019? It's four years beyond the point where I would consider touching it, even if it were free.
The backers are now looking at a minimum two years with no significant improvement to gameplay in th PU, in a game that is lacking any decent gameplay loops. Server meshing has been pushed off the roadmap (they never had a chance of 1000 player battles anyway, that was a CR cocaine fever dream), question is, will the jpg whale milk now start to dry up?
They are gambling everything on being able to keep going long enough to get Squander 42 out the door and hoping it sells enough copies to keep them afloat. I doubt the management can focus long enough to achieve that, especially in what is a tough time frame as they seem to have neglected S42 up to this point. By doing this they are risking their revenue stream of PU whales, even the most delusional may start to question the whole thing if their beloved SC is put on the back burner.
Judging by past history, it is unlikely they will meet even their cut down roadmap, SC is going to stagnate, S42 will be a shitty rush job. The future is going to be
.