Key Takeaways
1. Supergiant Games is focusing on one project at a time, with no active development on Hades 3 currently planned.
2. Studio Director Amir Rao emphasizes that the game itself is the design document, relying on community feedback during development.
3. Hades II has achieved significant success, with over 2 million copies sold during early access and a peak of 103,567 concurrent players.
4. Supergiant Games plans to provide ongoing support for Hades II with updates and bug fixes but is unlikely to release expansions or downloadable content.
5. Fans should expect a long wait for any announcements regarding Hades 3, as the studio prioritizes recovery after developing Hades II.
Potential plans for Hades 3 were discussed in an interview shortly before Hades II transitioned from early access to its version 1.0 launch. Supergiant Games’ Studio Director Amir Rao was careful to manage enthusiasm, which might be a letdown for fans eager for news about the future of the series.
Interview Insights
In a 36-minute chat with roguelike content creator Haelian, Rao made it clear, “It’s not preordained. It’s not something we secretly know right now or anything like that.” Supergiant adopts a concentrated method for game creation, focusing on one project at a time without juggling multiple games. Rao elaborated, saying, “When we’re working on our games, we’re not talking about the next game.”
Development Philosophy
Rao also mentioned that “the game is the design document,” indicating that Supergiant prefers to build, test, and reflect on community feedback in real-time rather than following strict long-term plans. This methodology has evidently paid off for Supergiant Games.
The evidence is clear in the achievements of Hades and its follow-up, which was first revealed at the Game Awards 2022, nearly two years after the original Hades exited early access in September 2020.
Success of Hades II
While there is no active development on Hades 3, as indicated by Rao, Hades II has already made a significant impact among fans. The game achieved an impressive peak of 103,567 concurrent players upon entering early access and has seen a strong resurgence with nearly 100,000 players after its official 1.0 launch on Steam.
The sales figures confirm that Hades II is a major success, at least in terms of numbers. According to Alinea Analytics, Hades II sold 2 million copies throughout its 16-month early access phase, with 1.5 million sold in the first two months alone. To highlight its achievement, Hades II has brought in a remarkable $54.5 million in gross revenue at its price of $29.99.
Looking Forward
The original Hades also performed well, moving over 150,000 copies in the week before Hades II’s departure from early access. Going forward, it’s clear that Supergiant Games plans to continue providing post-launch support for Hades II, including updates and bug fixes, similar to what they did with the previous title. However, expansions or downloadable content seem improbable based on Supergiant’s past practices. Fans can expect a long wait for any announcement regarding Hades 3, as the studio takes time to recover from a lengthy development cycle.
Source:
Link
Leave a Reply