Wardogs overtook Marathon in revenue within a week of early access.
- Wardogs sold over 2.2 million copies in the first week of early access.
- The game generated over 70 million dollars, surpassing Marathon in 6.5 months.
- The success allowed Bulkhead to avoid annual layoffs for the first time in six years.
The multiplayer tactical shooter Wardogs, developed by Bulkhead in collaboration with publisher Team17, was released in early access on Steam on September 10. In the first five days, the game attracted over 428,000 concurrent players and sold over 2.2 million copies, according to analytics agency Alinea Analytics.
Financial results
According to Alinea Analytics, in just one week of early access, Wardogs generated over 70 million USD. This figure already exceeds the total revenue that the evacuation shooter Marathon from Bungie, owned by Sony, managed to gather in six and a half months on PC and consoles.
In comparison, during the same sales period, Arc Raiders reached 1.7 million copies, while Helldivers 2 sold around 1 million. Thus, the sales pace of Wardogs significantly outpaces its competitors in the online shooter genre.
The head of market analytics at Alinea Analytics, Rhys Elliott, noted that the success of Wardogs confirms a trend in the games-as-a-service industry, where an active community of players can become more important than large budgets and well-known brands.
Marathon, despite the support of a major publisher, did not meet Sony's expectations, which was reflected in the company's disappointment with the project's sales.
The success of Wardogs has practical implications for developers. According to representatives of Bulkhead, the revenue from early access allows the company to avoid annual staff cuts for the first time in six years.
The game received 'very positive' reviews from players, 81% of whom rated it positively. It is worth noting that early access is only available in international regions and is not included in Russia.
The question remains open as to whether Wardogs can retain its current audience and attract new players after the full version is released. However, the project is already considered a major commercial success for Team17 and Bulkhead.
Source: 3DNews
