“I just want to genuinely apologize”: TenZ responds to community backlash on his Secret Mouse project

Valorant superstar Tyson "TenZ" Ngo recently posted a public explanation on Twitter (X) to answer the community’s concerns about his Secret Mouse project. The player had recently announced that his fans and other esports enthusiasts could pre-order his custom-built mouse. However, he faced a lot of backlash from his audience due to a variety of reasons. TenZ responded to the erupting situation by stating:

"First off I just want to genuinely apologize on the latest launch of my new mouse."

The community’s response was overwhelmingly positive at the start but slowly deteriorated when the player did not release any confirmed details about the mouse project. Fans quickly split into two broad groups, one constantly supporting the upcoming product and the other criticizing the ambitious step of opening up pre-orders without releasing the details of the final product.

That said, let us take a closer look at TenZ’s response and public announcement.

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Valorant pro TenZ releases early prototype of secret mouse project with official response to negative feedback

TenZ started out by apologizing to the entire community about the launch of his new mouse. The player acknowledged all of the concerns raised by the people regarding the product's pre-order. Without the presence of a definite shape, size, specifications, or release date, it becomes difficult to justify the hefty price tag of almost $200.

The post further cites that TenZ's management thought it would be a unique marketing strategy to release the development of the mouse one part at a time. The entire plan seems to have been an attempt to make fans feel more included in the entire process and purchase the product if they saw real potential:

"My management believed it was an interesting idea to reveal each part of the mouse step by step and allow people to pre-order if they believed in the project. Looking back at it now, I know it was a stretch to attempt to sell a mouse that had no finalized shape, specs, or weight. At the end of the day, Shape is King."

TenZ has taken action and frozen all pre-orders for his secret mouse till a concrete spec sheet alongside the product is ready to be released. As for everyone who already made the transaction, you will be contacted via email with the option to get a refund or stay in line:

"With that being said, I will also be freezing ANY future pre-orders for the time being and an email to the people who have already pre-ordered the mouse will have the option to either fully refund their current purchase or keep it."

Tyson took this chance to elaborate further on his dream to create a mouse unlike any other as he finally has complete creative freedom in the project. He apologized once again about how the entire launch went sideways and expressed gratitude to all the supporters who shared valuable feedback throughout the entire process:

"Lastly, thank you to the community for all your feed back with this launch. I will make sure that the release of the actual product will not be a disappointment."

The top-tier Valorant player concluded with a promise that the final product would not be a disappointment and shared a few images of the TenZ Secret Mouse’s early prototype. The exact specifications cannot be confirmed without the official spec sheet. However, a few confirmed specification ranges assure it will be a lightweight and swift mouse with a competitive polling rate to make it a truly esports-worthy product.

The comment section was flooded with fans and players supporting him through this backlash and appreciating his method of confrontation, which also provided clarity to the community.

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