Immortals of Aveum developer blames poor sales on busy launch calendar
The CEO of Immortals of Aveum developer Ascendant Studios has said releasing the game during such a busy window «100 percent» contributed to its poor sales figures.
Bret Robbins made the statement in an interview with Windows Central, where he discussed the reception to Immortals of Aveum, the subsequent layoffs at the studio, and putting the game onto subscription services.
Immortals of Aveum released on 22nd August 2023, which meant it was competing with the likes of Baldur's Gate 3 (which «no one anticipated» would be so successful, Robbins said) and Armored Core 6, with Starfield releasing soon after. The studio knew Immortals' release date was in a packed window, and Robbins said «trying to create awareness for us [as a new studio and IP] was really, really difficult».
The game's poor sales resulted in the studio laying off 45 percent of its staff, which Robbins said was unavoidable. «Our business relies on selling game, and we didn't sell enough games,» he stated, «and that forced me to make that decision.»
The studio is looking into getting Immortals onto Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, Robbins revealed, and is talking to both companies about deals. «We don't have a date yet,» he said, «I'm pretty sure it's going to happen though.»
Chris Tapsell wasn't a huge fan of Immortals of Aveum, giving it two out of five stars in his review, for recycling ideas in an «honest attempt to do something new-ish». You can decide for yourself whether Immortals' reception was down to a busy launch window or its game quality via the new Immortals of Aveum demo for the first three chapters of the game which is now available.
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