Summerhouse is a very minimalistic and relaxing town builder. Its simple formul and the lack of strict rules has resonated in the hearts of the players, becoming a huge success for German solo developer Friedemann.
- As Simon Carless revealed in the latest GameDiscoverCo newsletter, Summerhouse has sold over 120k copies in just over two weeks since its launch on March 8.
- According to publisher Future Friends Games, China accounted for 36.7% of the game’s sales, followed by the US (21.4%), UK (4.4%), Germany (4.3%), Japan (4%), and Canada (3%).
- With the base price of just $5, it has already grossed over $400k and reached net revenue of $339k (after refunds and taxes).
- Future Friends director Alex Fairwood added that Summerhouse received a solid organic interest, driven by YouTube/Twitch videos, positive reviews from critics, and word of mouth. As a result, 65% of its page visits at launch were from Steam’s New & Trending and Discovery Queue.
- Based on GameDiscoverCo data, its audience overlaps with indie titles like Unpacking, Townscaper, Dorfromantik, and Islanders. Fun fact: Friedemann worked on Islanders, as well as another Grizzly Games’ title Superflight, before going solo.
- Summerhouse currently has an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating on Steam, with 96% of the 973 user reviews being positive.
- Some of the most popular words that players use to describe the game are “relaxing” and “cozy.” And it sums up the entire experience pretty well, as Summerhouse has no restrictions, scores, or other complex stuff.
- “I just wanted to make something super small & creative and didn’t see an obvious way of including a game mechanic,” Friedemann told Carless. “If I would’ve had a good mechanics idea I would’ve definitely implemented it… I think [that] does help with sales.”
Friedemann developed Summerhouse in only eight months, so the game’s initial results are a big win. This doesn’t change any paradigm, but it does show that you don’t always need complex mechanics to succeed. In this case, it was a combination of appealing visuals, chill and meditative gameplay, and a very cheap price that made many players find the game perfect for short, relaxing sessions.
Here is also one user review we wanted to highlight: “After the demo, I asked the dev on Twitter if he could add outdoor seating and he actually did it, he modelled a beautiful plastic white chair and added it to the game, support indie devs!!! Friedemann is wonderful.”