Sales events > release date
Even major studios are afraid of fall release dates, with Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed and other annualized series sweeping up the market from September to December. Yet, Torn Banner, developer of Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, settled on an October 16 release. After months of increasing sales, studio co-founder Steve Piggot has no regrets.
“I would not change our release date. You probably won’t hear many indies say that about the fall, but Steam is so snowball-ey,” Piggot said, “if you can get on the top and roll down the hill with sale events, you can hit at the right time.”
After being reduced from $25 to $15 for a December Steam sale, Torn Banner took things one step further with a free weekend event in late January.
“We kept that snowball rolling with our free weekend. The other thing, too, is that people like our game by letting them play it. We didn’t over-hype or have CGI trailers. We said, ‘Here’s our game. Come play it!’ and people did,” Piggot said. “It’s all about keeping that snowball going. The only time you risk sales through free weekend is if you aren’t confident about the product.”
Interesting words from an interesting guy. Read my full interview for more thoughts from Piggot on Dead Space 3 microtransactions, standing out in a competitive market, and the future of developer Torn Banner.
