RedLynx Hails Digital Publishing, Sells 1.5 Million Units In 2009

Xbox Live Arcade Trials HD developer RedLynx sold 1.5 million copies of its games during 2009, the Helsinki-based studio's best year ever, according to an official announcement. RedLynx's release slate last year -- which also included PC title Monster Trucks Nitro and iPhone games Monster Truck Nitro and DrawRace -- together sold 1.5 million copies. CEO Tero Virtala says that developing and publishing in the digital space is the primary driver of its success. "In 2008, we published one game, Trials 2 SE for PC," he recalls. "It was well-received and sold more than 150,000 copies." "After that release, we started to focus more heavily on developing and publishing our multi-platform games on digital channels, significantly increasing sales," the CEO continues. "Obviously, that strategy has worked well." The company says that making free demos available on some 5,000 websites also helped extend its portfolio's reach -- it has also said in the past that it purposely "leaked" a version of the game to torrent sites, leaving out leaderboard support in the hopes of encouraging pirates to trade up for a paid version. "This year is looking even better, as we're bringing 8-10 new games to market," says Virtala. "We have experienced teams, strong partners, and a unique development model that lets us significantly expand our offerings while keeping the extremely high quality for which our games are known."