Xbox Explains How Keanu Reeves and Cyberpunk 2077 Helped Indie Hit Spiritfarer

gamerant.com:

Indie hit Spiritfarer found ample success for its handling of death and the afterlife in a way that hasn't really been done elsewhere in video games, but there may be more to its success than meets the eye. Namely, the game was revealed immediately after Cyberpunk 2077 at 2019's E3, and while some may feel that this would've stolen the indie title's thunder, others have a different idea.

As reported by Screen Rant, ID@Xbox Director Chris Charla feels that Spiritfarer's success may have had something to do with the bombastic nature of Cyberpunk 2077's E3 2019 showcase. Specifically, Charla spoke about Keanu Reeves' appearance on stage and how he energized the audience to an unprecedented level. Charla believes that Reeves' charming appearance propped up the next game showcase that came after Cyberpunk, which was Spiritfarer​​​​​​.

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Spiritfarer may be Cyberpunk 2077's diametric opposite, so it may seem like the two games couldn't possibly have anything to do with one another, least of all being their respective promotional efforts. Charla, however, claims that following up the brutal, gritty realism of Cyberpunk 2077 with a somber transition to Spiritfarer was his favorite E3 moment. Reeves' appearance at 2019's E3 rapidly went viral, but attracted an immense audience as soon as the man appeared on stage. One could argue that such a huge following effectively guaranteed that there are as many eyes on Spiritfarer as there could possibly be, which would substantially increase its own promotional outreach, in return.

Following its successful 2020 release, Spiritfarer proceeded to add free content updates for the duration of 2021 and beyond, featuring new spirits, quests,