Sims, although very niche titles, can sometimes find incredible success, especially with a dedicated enough playerbase.
Case in point: Stardew Valley, a farming sim released back in 2016, managed to sell more than one million copies in the span of a month and a half, and that was only on the PC, since the title went on to a successful release on other platforms. Cities: Skylines, the famed city-builder from Paradox Interactive, managed to sell more than six million copies ever since its 2015 release, not counting its subsequent releases on other platforms.
11 Bit Studios’ Frostpunk now looks to join that exclusive circle, since it has now officially sold more than 1.4 million copies ever since its launch a year ago. A studio representative from 11 Bit Studios has stated that most of the amazing performance of the title can be attributed to its release in the United States. 11 Bit Studios, like CD Projekt RED, is based in Poland.
The postapocalyptic survival city sim was a certified success even a year ago, when it managed to sell more than 250,000 copies just three days after its release. 11 Bit has stated that it took the company three years to make Frostpunk, while adding, “Technically, more than four years but the first prototype was chucked into the garbage and Frostpunk as it is now took a full three years.” It must’ve felt good for them, when it managed to recoup all those development costs in the first three days of last April’s launch.
A studio rep also shared some figures regarding its playerbase, noting that:
- Only 43.8% of players managed to finish the main campaign
- 59% of players chose the path of Faith in their playthroughs
- 2.9% of players failed in Serenity mode, which is the easiest (just like its producer Marek Ziemak)
The press release noted the last tidbit humorously, saying that:
“Sadly, he couldn’t even find success in the game’s easiest version, Serenity Mode. The dev team found this amusing enough that they even created an achievement, lovingly titled ‘Hi Marek!’ with an icon picturing a mildly irritated Marek.”
He’s not alone though. I did fail a couple of times in Serenity mode, but I can proudly say that I persevered (just like those stupid generators that gobble up so much resources) and managed to finish the main campaign. It is a bit harder than your usual city sim, but for players willing to give it a try, you’ll find that you may discover something to love about Frostpunk, much like the 1.4 million players who bought it.
Frostpunk is available on PC, with a planned release for the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One sometime this year.
