This announcement smacks of an underlying intent FDev is keeping quiet about. First, as Odyssey release approached, VR gameplay was abandoned, then Odyssey's initial release is a disaster and it's announced, "not yet for console, but we're working on it." Nearly a year later, and after near-silence on development progress, we get this announcement, and the very, very visible lack of any announcement or foresight on account transfers from console to PC, other than "We're looking into it..."
I'm less concerned about what Braben said and more about what wasn't said. Let's be honest, not many in the community didn't see this coming, but the account transfer omission is extremely telling. This subject has to have been brought up by someone, an executive, community manager, a lead developer - someone, in the course of making this decision. How many times has the community been told, "We're looking into it..." followed by deafening silence until further bad news broke? Was FDev ever working on a console release for Odyssey, and how much dev time-investment (and therefore, money) was sunk into console before it was abandoned? I have doubts it was significant.
This is not how a game studio that is viable and healthy acts. This is "trimming and leaning out" in preparation for a financial move - an acquisition. I've worked at software companies before, and gone through these pre-acquisition stages. Make your product(s) and balance sheet look as good as possible, with as little investment as possible, in the hopes of attracting that whale bold enough to take the risk. Get lean, milk the software sales for all you can to boost numbers, then sell it off when that magic number is offered.
FDev is looking for a stopping point ahead of a sale. They might have minor features and updates in the pipeline, but I doubt there will be anything more on account transfers because it costs too much money in dev time & other resources to make happen, something FDev will never say publicly. Same goes for fixing the multitude of performance and gameplay issues plaguing this title. What was FDev's response (for example), about the issues with material grinding? "We're looking into it..." Since then, nothing.
Yes Braben's on record for saying a sale isn't in the works. But how can anyone trust what he says? In Odyssey alone: Communcation with the community will get better, until they reversed course in Dec '21. VR was coming, until it was abandoned. Then console was coming, until today when we find out it too has been shelved.
Should we believe in FDev now?
My response: "I'm looking into it..."