Seaven Studio, a development team out of France has given the whole world an opportunity to peer into the details of the first month of sales for its first ever game, Ethan: Meteor Hunter. It gives us a glimpse into the risks and challenges indies face as they try to start a studio and release their first game. I think the results of their first month will surprise you. I don’t want to reveal too many specifics here as I would prefer you read it directly from the source, but suffice to say, there’s a lot to be learned from their experience.
First, as touched upon in the article, their sales we shockingly poor. Selling 127 units in a month is not going to keep the lights on and the doors open for a studio. Remember that most games experience a sharkfin-style sales curve, with the first month (and week) of sales generally being the highest in the game’s lifecycle. This does not bode well for Seaven Studio, which can more or less make the assumption that without significant influencer intervention, it is likely that their first game simply will not sell. For many studios, that might make their first game their last.
Well, why didn’t the game sell. We are all aware of the potential impact that the press and influencers can have on the launch of a game, and despite some positive praise from some smaller outlets, Ethan: Meteor Hunter simply did not attract much of an audience. My initial impressions would suggest that perhaps more care could have been taken in their art and animation which might have enticed more players, but ultimately, the most likely reason for their woes is failing to outshine the competition. With more and more indie games hitting Steam every day, it has become easy to get lost in the crowd, and once that happens, your game will simply drift deeper into the storefront, smothered by whatever comes next. Sadly, I believe this is only the start of such challenges for indies.
Time will tell if we begin to see more of these types of situations. Games not meeting sales expectations is nothing new, but for indies finding themselves on Steam for the first time, a poor launch could make pitching that second project so much more difficult.