Michael Douse, the publishing director of Larian Studios, the folks behind Baldur's Gate 3, has some thoughts on the commercially successful launch of Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl.
Stalker 2's publisher, GSC World, recently announced "a million copies were sold" since launch, not to mention "much more stalkers" playing on Game Pass. All in all, it's a tremendous success for a game facing the unprecedented headwinds that Stalker has with the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Douse took to Twitter in the wake of Stalker 2's release to explain his perspective on its success, saying there's been a "seismic" and silent shift in what players want from games.
"People are more hungry for hyper-engaging, focused experiences than they are shiny prepped up retail product and this is the underlying seismic shift behind so much, and nobody is talking about it," Douse said. "The increased prominence of digital over retail and the ability to access audiences directly is a threat traditional publishers cannot keep up with."
People are more hungry for hyper-engaging, focused experiences than they are shiny prepped up retail product and this is the underlying seismic shift behind so much, and nobody is talking about it. The increased prominence of digital over retail and the ability to access… https://t.co/oJI1T5gaA6November 22, 2024
Douse has been extremely outspoken about other releases and the state of the industry generally, making headlines back in April for proclaiming "marketing's dead" because players don't want to be "bamboozled," and again in August when he backed Fallout: New Vegas director Josh Sawyer's idea for his dream RPG, and again in September when he called Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii's quick turnaround "genius sh*t," and again in October when he said if Ubisoft wants "subs over sales" then "developers must get used to not having jobs," and again... well, you get the point. Dude says a lot of stuff.
After a lengthy and, again, troubled development cycle, Stalker 2 finally launched this week to largely positive reviews. The most prevailing criticism of the game is its lackluster performance, with our verdict reading "the best but most broken game I've played all year." All in all, it sounds like the actual meat of the game is survival horror FPS nirvana; it's just buggy, which isn't the worst way a game has ever been received.
