Amnesia: The Dark Descent Sells 200K, Developer Lauds PC As A Growing Platform

Swedish developer Frictional Games said it is taken aback by the strong sales of its horror title Amnesia: The Dark Descent, with the game's performance putting the team in a situation they "never imagined being in." According to a blog post from studio co-founder Thomas Grip, Amnesia's sales have exceeded 200,000 units across online and Russian retail sales, doubling the company's original sales estimates of 100,000 units. While Frictional Games saw healthy sales of 36,000 units just a month after the game's launch in September 2010, the months approaching the holiday season attracted an unexpected slew of new customers. Grip notes the game has sold at least 200 units every day since launch, though many of those sales came in well below the suggested retail price thanks to a number of sales from online stores. The title was featured in Steam's recent holiday sale, which at times featured the game at more than 75 percent off. Frictional Games didn't provide a large marketing blitz for the game, though Grip suggests user videos have greatly increased awareness for the title, with some videos attracting over 775,000 views. Amnesia has also received attention through a number of industry awards, including three nominations at the upcoming Independent Games Festival. "Based on what we have seen, the online PC market is just getting bigger and bigger, and we are convinced we are far from the end of this growth," said Grip, praising the viability of PC as a platform for indie developers. With the new financial support from Amnesia's sales, Frictional Games says it hopes to take more risks and explore its creative options with its future titles.