Frictional Games says its latest horror adventure Amnesia: Rebirth isn't profitable yet. However, through word-of-mouth, digital platform discounts, and a major upcoming update, the studio is "certain" it'll start making money soon.
Why isn't Amnesia: Rebirth profitable yet?
This news comes via Frictional Games' official website. The studio says that October 20th, the day Amnesia: Rebirth launched, was "by far the single best-selling day" in its history. However, as the year progressed, a "cluttered" release schedule saw Rebirth slip down the sales ranks a little. By February 2021, sales for the game picked up again, and Frictional says it's now passed the 100k mark. There's a big update on the way for Amnesia: Rebirth, and in conjunction with future sales events and an uptick in buzz around the game, Frictional says it "[feels] certain that the project will turn profitable" soon.
The team also shared its response to some of the reactions Amnesia: Rebirth garnered. In response to some fans who were dissatisfied with the direction the game took, Frictional says it wanted to "[create] a more overall psychological experience" rather than focus on short-term scares. The studio says it was looking to create a natural successor to Amnesia: The Dark Descent rather than simply ape its successes. There's also a rather lengthy discussion around some of the game's major themes and its ending, so if you're still playing Rebirth, make sure you don't scroll that far down. You have been warned.
How are Frictional's other projects doing?
In addition to news about Amnesia: Rebirth, Frictional Games also shared a significant milestone for underwater psychological mindbender SOMA. According to Frictional, SOMA passed the 1 million sales milestone "some time ago"; it's sold a million copies on PC, but that number grows if one takes PlayStation 4 and Xbox One into account. Around six months after SOMA's release, Frictional creative director Thomas Grip said SOMA wasn't "selling to its full potential" but that sales would grow over time. This, it turns out, is exactly what happened, and so Frictional is hoping the same will be true of Amnesia: Rebirth.
While Frictional Games doesn't go into any detail, the studio does confirm in the blog post that it's already begun work on a new game. According to Frictional, the game has "now had tons of pre-production time" during the process of creating and releasing Amnesia: Rebirth. The studio is also beginning pre-production on another unnamed project as they are attempting to become a two project studio. Here's hoping we'll hear more from the Swedish seneschals of scare soon.
Have you played Amnesia: Rebirth? What projects would you like to see from Frictional next? Let us know in the comments below!