"We're completely blown away": 2026's best-rated game sold half a million copies in its first week, and the indie devs behind it are stunned

Yacht Club Games's new Castlevania-inspired adventure game Mina the Hollower sold half a million copies in a week.

Earlier this year, Yacht Club Games co-founder Sean Velasco said that Mina the Hollower – its second major release after a decade of Shovel Knight – was "make-or-break," with Velasco saying "if we sold 500,000 copies, then we would be golden. If we sold even 200,000, that would be really, really great. If we sold, like, 100,000, that's not so good."

The game proved to be a hit with critics, becoming the best-rated game of 2026 and selling 300,000 copies in the first three days, but I'm glad to say that Yacht Club Games is now "golden."

Announced over on Twitter, Yacht Club's account announces that Mina the Hollower has sold over 500,000 copies. The post continues: "Half a million Hollowers have descended into Tenebrous Isle, and we're completely blown away. Thank you for playing, sharing, reviewing, streaming, and believing in our haughty little mouse. The adventure is just getting started!"

While this is being announced 11 days since the game was released, the studio follows up by saying the sales were "all in the first week," so the actual number could be a lot higher by now.

Undoubtedly, it was probably also helped along by its great bundles on Steam, with one pairing it with the other best-rated indie game of 2026, Mewgenics. With the devs saying that "the adventure is just getting started," hopefully it's safe to say we haven't seen the last of Mina. Just don't expect the overwhelming generosity we saw with Shovel Knight, as the developers have said that there will be "no free DLC" after Shovel Knight was effectively four games in one.

The best-rated game of 2026 is $20 because the devs "don't want people to wait" for a discount: "We only get one chance at this."