Dave the Diver is a new hit game, which has become the top-selling premium title on Steam last week. Here are the key details about the project and developer Mintrocket, a separate subsidiary of South Korean publisher Nexon.
What happened?
Dave the Diver was the 4th highest-grossing game on Steam for the week ended July 11. If excluded free-to-play titles and Steam Deck, it was the top-selling project on the platform, outperforming BattleBit Remastered, Elden Ring, and Baldur’s Gate 3.
Shortly after that, developer Mintrocket and its parent company Nexon announced that Dave the Diver has already sold over 1 million copies since its global launch on June 28 — an impressive feat for a debut game made by a small team (albeit with a big publisher behind their back).
More than 1 million players enjoyed DAVE THE DIVER. Thanks for all your support. pic.twitter.com/09GFuQ1xav
— DAVE THE DIVER (@DaveDiverGame) July 11, 2023
“I appreciate the community so much for being active and providing crucial feedback,” game director Jaeho Hwang said in a statement. “We improved a lot of systems and found bugs thanks to them. Thanks everyone for being there with us on this journey!”
Dave the Diver came out in Early Access in October 2022. Shortly after its full launch, the game peaked at 98,480 concurrent players (via SteamDB). It currently has nearly 29k reviews on Steam, with 97% of them being positive.
Who is Mintrocket?
- Mintrocket is a standalone sub-brand of South Korean publisher Nexon. Officially launched last year, it is focused on speed, originality, and user enjoyment.
- So while Nexon is best known for its online games like Dungeon & Fighter, KartRider, and MapleStory (especially popular in Asia), Mintrocket’s goal is to develop smaller titles based on new IPs and target the global audience.
- “The inspiring and energetic independent teams are developing a variety of genres of games without putting a limit on the fun,” the studio said about its open development approach. “We improve the quality of games through a series of tests to respond to market changes and customer needs.”
- Dave the Diver is a testament to Mintrocket’s approach, as it combines various mechanics and genres. It is a story-driven adventure game about a chubby diver running his sushi restaurant. So the player has to fish and manage the business, not to mention many other activities.