11-bit Studios is celebrating that Frostpunk 2 has already sold 350,000 units, but this number is far below the expectations of investors…
Frostpunk 2 has certainly taken a very unusual path in its first few days on the market. The survival strategy title was released on September 20 and sold 350,000 copies in its first weekend. However, this number has a somewhat bitter counterpoint: the value of 11-bit Studios, the developer behind the experience, suffered a 37.73% drop in the stock market.
Let’s start with the good news. According to a recent post on X, Frostpunk 2 is doing very well commercially for its developers: “We are super happy to announce that we’ve already exceeded 350,000 copies of Frostpunk 2 sold!” “What’s more, the total estimated sales revenue has already covered the costs we spent on producing and marketing the game.”
“Big, big thank you to all of you for your support! It (almost) melts our frozen-solid hearts” – the announcement continues, before sharing some promises about the future of the game: “The work doesn’t stop here, we are continuously working on improving your experience with hotfixes and patches, and your feedback testicles are also invaluable.”
Frostpunk 2 is a “negative surprise”
11-bit Studios’ post, therefore, draws attention to the success of Frostpunk 2. However, investors are not very happy with the trading performance of the experience. As first reported by Reuters, the developer experienced a 37.73% loss in value following the strategy game’s release; ultimately, sales fell short of expectations, and the peak of 35,533 concurrent players is considered insufficient.
“We expected a significantly higher players peak in the 80,000-100,000 range, so we consider 35.5k as a negative surprise,” said Piotr Bogusz, Erste Group analyst.
He then touched on the game’s Steam rating (71% “Very Positive” rating). “A drop in the average rating below the 80% threshold affects the game’s visibility on Steam, which could translate into sales.”
It is true that the community welcomed Frostpunk 2 with open arms, some players pointed to optimization problems and a less immersive experience than in the first part: “We were maybe counting on slightly higher scores, but this negative sentiment or disappointment among players is due to the fact that it is not simply a sequel to Frostpunk 1, but Frostpunk 2…maybe we didn’t articulate enough that it’s not a clone, that it’s not a simple sequel but a different game,” – adds Dariusz Wolak, head of investment relations at 11-bit Studios. Given this discrepancy between authors/investors in terms of sales, it remains to be seen how the future of the game and developer will play out…
We are super happy to announce that we’ve already exceeded 350 000 copies of #Frostpunk 2 sold!
What’s more, the total estimated sales revenue has already covered the costs we spent on producing and marketing the game.
Big, big thank you to you all for your support! It (almost)… pic.twitter.com/7sa9qVe4fv
— Frostpunk 2 (@frostpunkgame) September 23, 2024
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