I'm sure it's not easy, but I really hope some big developers/publisher take a look at this and try to follow along. For a game that looks like it's a big budget title to be considered a success with those numbers (think the exact number for it to become profitable was even lower, like 300k...and it only came out digitally and on two platforms), is a pretty stark contrast to something like Tomb Raider that was considered a failure with it's 3-4 million sales.

well! this is heartening to hear, especially given the atypical subject matter AND pricing model.

always great to hear devs take positive risks and have them survive to take more!

That is really great to hear. Hellblade was a really cool experience and, while I didn't love all of it, I'm super happy it took risks and was rewarded for it.

Glad to see this pay off, hopefully shows it has some viability as a business model!

Same.

I'll actually say that I didn't like the game as a whole, but I'm glad it exists and that it was successful.

I love when developers are being transparent about their game's development and financial success. It wasn't my favorite Ninja Theory game, but I loved the visuals and combat.

Glad to hear that they can keep on making what they want.

I love that a single player game was able to turn a profit in the age of "every game has to be a service" mandates from a number of major publishers. It keeps my faith alive for more unique narrative games from AAA studios.

@sravankb: What was your issue with the game? I thought it was a little too long and the combat was frustrating in spots, but I liked the visuals and a bunch of the perspective puzzles. And I thought the storytelling was top-notch.

I'm suprised it sold so little, i thought it would have cracked a mill at least. That said i still haven't gotten around to getting it, but i have to be on a budget atm lol.

That's sort of a "good" thing from a big publishers perspective though. They'd rather invest and fail with a game that's projected to sell 10 millions than invest and succeed with a game projected to sell 2. Anyone will eventually end up investing in a dud from time to time, but as long as they keep a fairly high success rate they'll make way money going for the bigger bets.

I'm also happy they're getting a profit from this game. It was definitely not a safe bet considering it's subject matter and style. I wouldn't mind this leading to more games with this price/quality/length ratio.

Awesome! I'm glad I bought it at full price on PS4. I really enjoyed it

That's great news! Hopefully now they'll think about a physical release of Hellblade for those of us who prefer to support them that way.

Everybody knew this wasn't Big Cool Dude Action game...well, it's some kind of action game I guess. To many people this would look a little off the beaten path, though I am not referring to posters here by and large. I bought the game, I have yet to play it. But if Steam has it's winter sale (after this Thursday I hope, but I may be wrong?) I've got Horizon in my sights, least as a big game.

EDIT; This game does appeal to me though. Waiting for a slow-down, and also to pay attention to where it goes.

DOUBLE EDIT; Ain't no Horizon on steam fool. :(

@oursin_360 said:

I think this shows how out of whack the ridiculous sales expectations of publishers are, and how it's affected what game enthusiasts think is a "success". Selling half a million of anything is pretty damn spectacular!

Thats great, Hellblade is one hell of a game (hehe).

It for sure has a amazing narrative and graphics. The devs deserve all the praise.

I need to start this over and try to play it straight through in 1 or 2 sittings with headphones and a dimly lit room, I feel.

I was glad to hear this news and can't wait for what they'll do next

What it usually comes down to for games like this - the gameplay.

- I didn't like the combat. I've played slow and heavy, animation-priority games like Dark Souls and Monster Hunter, and something about this game's combat just felt tedious. It never really felt rewarding or worthy of having slower combat.

- Didn't like the perspective puzzles. I've never appreciated the idea of pixel-hunting as a mechanic. It's not mentally rewarding to me; I want actual puzzles (think Portal, Braid, Witness, etc.)

And unfortunately, that's all there is to the gameplay in Hellblade. I'd love to play games like this if they combine good / interesting storytelling with good gameplay. Unfortunately, they only got it half-right, which is too often the case with story-focused titles. It'd be especially great if the story was told through gameplay mechanics.

A game that got that right, IMO - was Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.

Perhaps some developers should consider that their single player games are overdeveloped and bloated, instead of simply blaming customer for not wanting story-centric games.

500k is actually quite a lot for a game about mental illness that doesn't have much of a marketing budget.

That's cool. I like Ninja Theory and I'm glad they took a risk with developing this game and it paid off for them. I haven't got around to it yet, but I will when I take some time off for the holidays.

This is good and the way quality single player games are sort of destined to head.

I'm glad they made money on it and good on 'em for tackling such a hard issue with appropriate depth and dedication, but man was this not an especially "fun" or even "enjoyable" game to actually play.

I just got a $20 PS credit code from sony rewards.

It's tempting to put it towards hellblade but with black friday sales, I could get the evil within 2 right now for 10 dollars.

Hellblade is gonna stay 30 so it'll have to wait. Can't wait to play it though.

Good news!

Especially in the current climate. Might deal a blow to the narrative that you can't make a profit with a linear single player story game. Looking at you EA.