Darkest Dungeon II has hit a new sales milestone ahead of its full launch. However, the numbers are much more modest compared to the first game.
Darkest Dungeon II sales compared to the first game
- Red Hook Studios shared the new data in an interview with VG247. As of March 31, Darkest Dungeon II has sold over 300,000 units globally.
- It took the title roughly 1.5 years to reach this milestone, given that it initially came out in Early Access on October 26, 2021.
- It is worth noting that the title hit the 100,000 mark in its first 24 hours in EA. So around 200,000 units have been sold since then.
- Although the numbers might sound good for a self-published indie game, they are far less impressive compared to its predecessor. The first Darkest Dungeon, which also first launched in Early Access in January 2015, surpassed 650,000 copies sold in its first 12 months.
- Last December, Red Hook Studios announced that the game topped 6 million units sold globally. Total sales would amount to 16 million units if included all DLCs such as The Color of Madness and The Crimson Court.
Why is Darkest Dungeon II lagging behind the first game?
- The main reason for the modest sales of Darkest Dungeon II is its exclusivity to the Epic Games Store. The game’s EA version is only available there, so many players might still be waiting for it to launch on Steam before trying it.
- The terms of the deal between Red Hook Studios and Epic Games remain undisclosed. But given the amounts previously revealed in many court documents related to the Epic v. Apple trial, the minimum guarantee sum should be enough to make up for a potential lack of sales.
- Many changes to the core mechanics might be another reason for such a reception of Durkest Dungeon II. As Red Hook told VG247, the studio is still working on improving the game and collecting feedback related to the relationship system, overall progression, and other elements.
- The full launch of Darkest Dungeon II is scheduled for May 8. That’s when the title will appear on Steam, so it is interesting to see what impact the 1.0 release will have on sales, player count, and other metrics.