In the office of Nebula Games, the team was keeping a close eye on how Outlast was doing.
After all, Outlast was their first big project as a team.
And it wasn't cheap either. The total cost—development plus marketing—reached 1.3 million dollar.
But among top-tier and mid-tier game companies, this isn't considered a major investment.
Still, it's already beyond what most indie games can pull off.
That's why everyone's paying close attention to how Outlast is doing.
"Boss Lucas, how's Outlast doing, exactly?"
"Yeah, it's been out for two days already."
During lunch break in the office, Anna, Rachel, Hector, and the others all turned to Lucas, who was relaxing in a massage chair, and asked.
Even though online reviews and the buzz around Outlast are very strong,
what really matters for a game is how well it sells.
If people praise it but don't actually buy it, and the project ends up losing money, then the game can't keep going.
Just like Bayonetta in the previous life—it was seen as the only game that could stand alongside Ninja Gaiden, God of War, and Devil May Cry.
But the IP changed hands multiple times, and the third game took years to even show any signs of life.
The main reason, of course, was that people liked it but didn't buy it—the sales were just too low.
Witch Time and Bayonetta were both praised as classics by players, but they just didn't sell much.
Even with Bayonetta 1 and 2 and the HD bundle, the total sales still didn't beat Devil May Cry V alone.
Sometimes, the game industry just doesn't make sense.
"Not bad. Ignoring the refunds, we've already sold 130,000 copies. Shouldn't be a problem to break even in three days," Lucas said with a smile.
Compared to other games, Outlast has a pretty high refund rate.
But Lucas had already expected that.
After all, it's a horror game—and a really scary one at that. It's normal for players to get too scared to continue playing.
Lucas had already taken that into account before development even began.
"But on our own Nebula Games platform, we've only sold a bit over 2,000 copies," Anna said, a bit disappointed.
Even though Lucas didn't say it out loud, from the way Nebula Games is currently prioritizing the platform internally,
some of the more forward-thinking team members have already figured out a few things.
"Not enough discounts, not enough name recognition, and Outlast isn't appealing enough yet. We have to take this step by step," Lucas said, without sounding too disappointed.
Building a game platform doesn't happen overnight, especially when this parallel world has long been in the internet age.
Back in the previous life, Microsoft and Sony battled it out across the first three console generations, with wins and losses on both sides.
Microsoft always got teased by Sony fans, saying they'd only "win in the future."
Still, they did have the upper hand at times. But they lost the most important generation to Sony.
That was the generation when the PS4 launched, ushering in the online era.
During that time, with the rapid growth of the internet, the rise of digital games, and social features for players, Sony's win in the console war laid a solid foundation for them going forward.
Even though Microsoft had deep pockets and started buying up studios and launching subscription services in the next generation, Sony still stayed on top.
Same thing on PC—Epic used Fortnite and a lot of money to get users, and while they gained many, the platform itself was still losing money.
One reason was the lack of exclusive games to really draw players in. The other was Steam's massive lead during the rise of the internet.
Even in the previous life, Tencent overtaking older companies like Shanda and NetEase was largely thanks to their dominance in instant messaging—probably 70% of the credit.
So when it comes to platforms, Lucas knew clearly that it's not about one or two hit games—you have to build it up step by step.
He had a clear plan in mind for the future, but Lucas didn't dwell on it now. Instead, he changed the subject: "Outlast still has a lot of untapped potential. There's going to be a big sales spike coming soon."
"Eh?" Hearing what Lucas said, everyone, including Rachel, looked curious.
"With the boom of live streaming and video platforms, more players are getting curious." Lucas smiled as he spoke.
For a horror game to sell well, it needs to break out of its niche.
Of course, breaking out doesn't mean leaving the gaming circle—it means going beyond just horror fans.
If a horror game only stays within its fanbase, it's bound to have limited sales.
Take successful horror games from the past life for example—Resident Evil became well-known not just because of Leon and Ada, but also thanks to memes like the hand sanitizer boss, Lady Dimitrescu, and the fly swatter mod.
Another example is Five Nights at Freddy's, which once topped weekly views on YouTube.
Games like Silent Hill and Outlast, which regular gamers are more familiar with, also broke out thanks to movies, livestreams, and videos—they reached people outside the usual horror fan group.
On the other hand, equally great titles like the Fatal Frame series, Siren, Clock Tower, and The Evil Within are mostly only known to real horror fans. Most regular gamers have never even heard of them.
Getting beyond the horror fan circle is a must for a horror game to sell big. The same applies to horror movies.
That's because many players and viewers aren't actually die-hard horror fans.
They're just curious—how can a game or a movie scare people so much?
With movies, once you've watched them, you can't get a refund. But even though you can refund games, many people still don't bother even if they don't want to play them.
After all, just because you bought a game, doesn't mean you have to spend time playing it, right?
That's also why horror games usually have really low completion rates.
And now, with 130,000 copies sold in just two days, things are already looking really good.
Lucas also knew—this was just the beginning.
It's easy to imagine that as time goes on, sales will only keep growing.
Because so far, the hype on streaming and video platforms hasn't even hit its peak yet.
That means Outlast still hasn't reached its full potential.
...
Just like Lucas said, Outlast hadn't yet exploded among the general player base.
But on streaming platforms, lots of viewers who just wanted to join the fun were already showing up in all kinds of streams.
Some streamers who had run out of good games to play were being recommended this brand-new title.
"Streamer, go play Outlast! It's the new game by the To the Moon developer—super heartwarming!"
"Hey streamer, wanna try Outlast? It's a really hot game right now!"
"Yeah, and it's great for streaming! Someone in the other category is playing it and already got over 3 million views, plus twice as many VIPs as usual!"
A lot of streamers who normally don't follow gaming news also got pulled in for different reasons.
Some were curious because it's from the To the Moon dev, while others saw other streamers playing it and thought it looked fun.
Either way, lots of streamers ended up jumping into the Outlast pit.
And the streaming platforms were soon filled with chaos and bloodshed.
(End of this chapter)
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