Initial Boyfriend Dungeon sales were pretty darn good. They were so good, in fact, that it sold more copies in its first 36 hours than Kitfox Games' earlier title Moon Hunters sold in its first week.
Boyfriend Dungeon is a combination dungeon crawler and dating sim. You'll be joined by a companion who helps you fight in the dungeons, but it's not exactly a person — you can date your weapon.
The game was highly successful on Kickstarter a little ways back, bringing in CAD$272,280 — a nice jump above its campaign goal of CAD$65,579. That success has extended beyond Kickstarter, too.
Big Gamble Pays Off with Stellar Boyfriend Dungeon Sales
The Boyfriend Dungeon sales were the happy result of a big gamble by Kitfox Games. Thankfully, the bet paid off for this indie developer and publisher.
"[We] sold as many copies of Boyfriend Dungeon in 1 day as we did in the first week of Moon Hunters (2016)... plus we didn't take any outside funding for it, so it's all for Kitfox, baby!" Kitfox's Tanya X. Short said on Twitter. She added that the Kickstarter funds certainly helped a lot with development, but Kitfox Games avoided having to take on any debt or obligations otherwise.
What's especially surprising, though, is just how well this game performed compared to one of Kitfox Games' previous titles. Tanya told me via e-mail that Boyfriend Dungeon beat the first week of Moon Hunter sales by 39% on Steam in the first 36 hours of Boyfriend Dungeon sales. That number doesn't even include the sales on Nintendo Switch and Xbox or the number of people playing the game on Xbox Game Pass.
"[...] I had to decide some years ago to invest a lot of resources into it, so obviously I was literally betting that we'd make our money back... but I always had my heart steeled against potential complete failure," Tanya explained. "Disappointment sneaks up on you so easily, as an artist and as a businessperson. I'm glad people are enjoying the game."
What's Next for Boyfriend Dungeon?
Boyfriend Dungeon has had a strong start, but there's still a lot to do. Tanya tells me that the immediate future is going to focus on bugfixing and catching up on sleep. That's far from the end of new content for this game, though!
Once the major issues are settled, Kitfox Games will take a short break to recuperate from the game's intense pre-launch period. After that, the team will get back to work creating new Boyfriend Dungeon DLC and other updates.
People tend to focus on the smash hits that sell millions of copies, but there is a far greater number of indie devs that are practically betting the farm with each new release. Sometimes, a mix of good luck and an interesting premise results in that gamble paying off. You can experience the fun of this game for yourself right now by buying Boyfriend Dungeon for PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch via its official website for $19.99 or your regional equivalent.
Have you had a chance to play Boyfriend Dungeon? What's your favorite weapon in the game? Let us know in the comments below!
