The very sustainability of the video game industry has been a hot topic as of late, with stories of studios closing or laying people off despite ostensible, public-facing success continuing to populate headlines. This also ties in to publishers leaning harder and harder on microtransactions and story after story of games having disappointing sales despite moving millions. So it has come as a shock that Focus Home Interactive, publisher of Dontnod’s upcoming Vampyr , has stated in an interview that the company will consider the game successful at a “mere” one million copies sold.
The interview is with the head of Focus Home Interative, Cedric Lagarrigue. He speaks of the size and scope of Vampyr, which technically the company does not consider “AAA” based on the game’s overall budget. That said, the game has seen a mainstream marketing push ever since it was announced. Dontnod, developer of Vampyr , has managed to get eyeballs all over its projects ever since the success of Life is Strange .
Due to the smaller budget of Vampyr compared to most AAA games, Lagarrigue stated that not only would Vampyr be seen as a successful venture at only one million sold, but that it would reach profitability at half that number. Lagarrigue says that Focus expects to benefit from the developer’s reputation and has pushed the game as such despite its status as a new IP. He also said there are no DLC plans, stating it is a “purely solo” experience and that if anything, Vampyr would continue with a sequel if justified by reception.
Source: MCV