Would you look at that – there may be more zombie shooter fans than I initially thought.
I was referring, of course to my recent review of Saber Interactive’s World War Z, in which I stated that the game will certainly appeal to fans of the co-op zombie shooter genre popularized by the Left 4 Dead series. What I did not anticipate was just how many of them are there, in a time when most would have thought the zombie genre was all used up.
The UK Charts proved this wrong, on a number of levels. World War Z clambered its way to the top of the esteemed video game sales ranking chart, beating out The Division 2, while selling one million copies all in a span of a week. This is exceptional proof that there is still quite a strong market for zombie games and they can easily bring in huge numbers, provided that the game caters to what its fans want: co-operative play, lots of shooting, lots of guns, and lots of zombies.
Developer Saber Interactive was the one who initially broke the news, stating that the game has passed one million copies ever since it went on sale last April 16 on the PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This huge number was made despite the game’s notable absence on the Steam store; World War Z is an Epic Games Store PC exclusive, after all.
Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch has stated his surprise at World War Z’s performance outside the U.S.
“Overall the U.S. and EU have been equally strong in sales. We have had 70,000 people playing at once across all platforms, with very similar distribution among PC, PS4 and Xbox," Karch said. "What surprises us is the fact that sales outside of the U.S. on the Epic Store have been so strong, with the U.S. being only one quarter of sales.”
In my review, I noted World War Z's strong potential as a possible new title to follow for fans of the original Left 4 Dead series, citing its connectivity issues and numerous bugs as the only hindrance to what has otherwise been a fun and rewarding experience. I am still playing the game as of today, and I am also pleased to say that Saber has fixed most of the lingering issues with connection, allowing me to get more enjoyment for playing.
World War Z is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and the Epic Games Store on PC.
