Outriders Hasn't Made Square Enix Any Money Yet
Outriders released on April 1, 2021, and while initial sales were strong, those sales didn't last. According to a new report from developer People Can Fly, Outriders has yet to make back its development cost for publisher Square Enix.
People Can Fly's latest earnings report (courtesy of Tweak Town) confirmed that Outriders has yet to become profitable. The document confirms at least part of the publishing agreement with Square Enix involves royalty payments to People Can Fly if the publisher recoups its costs related to development, promotion, and distribution.
"[People Can Fly] received no royalties from the publisher for the period to December 31st 2021," wrote the Polish developer, "which means that as at the reporting date net proceeds from the sale of Outriders were insufficient to recover the costs and expenses incurred by the publisher to develop, distribute and promote the title."
Related: Hands On With Outriders Worldslayer: A Traditional Expansion With A Much-Needed End Game
The developer goes on to say that there’s also "no assurance that net proceeds from the sale of Outriders in future periods will be sufficient for the publisher to recover the costs incurred and to pay royalties to the Group."
Tweak Town notes that Square Enix has full ownership of the game, and People Can Fly might just refuse to make new DLC after Worldslayer if Square Enix doesn’t pay royalties. If that’s the case, Square Enix could pull development of Outriders and hand it to another developer.
Outriders had strong initial sales, but technical issues at launch resulted in middling reviews. Those issued included a bug that wiped player inventories, and a crash report system that clogged up player’s hard drives. Those teething issues
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