Ghostrunner 2 recouped development costs in less than a week
Released on October 26, 2023, the cyberpunk action game Ghostrunner 2 showed a financially successful start. In a notice to investors, the Polish studio One More Level reported that it took several days to recoup the cost of creating the game.
Key figures from the document:
- 16.7 million zlotys were invested in the development of Ghostrunner 2. This is approximately €3.8 million;
- By October 31, the revenue of the basic version of the game reached 24.4 million zlotys (€5.6 million), and gross profit amounted to 7.7 million zlotys (€1.7 million).
The studio did not say how much it and publisher 505 Games spent on the Ghostrunner 2 marketing campaign. Therefore, it is unclear whether the title managed to completely go to zero. I did not disclose One More Level and the circulation of the game.
Recall that the first part of the series paid off on the day of release. According to One More Level, Ghostrunner earned €2.5 million on its debut day, which significantly exceeded the cost of developing the project.
Ghostrunner 2 received generally positive reviews from critics. Its rating on Metacritic was 79 out of 100 for the Xbox Series version and 80 out of 100 for the PlayStation 5 and PC versions. According to the press, Ghostrunner 2 turned out to be a worthy sequel, developing the ideas of the original. The project was praised for the new elements that made the game more diverse, dynamic battles and an exciting plot. However, it was not without drawbacks. Critics attributed to them the lack of significant innovations and empty open locations.
Ghostrunner 2 is not doing well on Steam. Although the project received 91% positive reviews, its online rating is not too high. According to SteamDB, at its peak, cyberpunk action attracted 2,264 people at the same time. This is five times less than the first part had at the time.
Also, for the last two weeks, Ghostrunner 2 online on Steam has been held at the level of 200-290 people. For comparison, the online presence of the first Ghostrunner in the same period ranged from 800 to 1700 people. Both games are now on sale at a discount: Ghostrunner 2 is 44% off, and Ghostrunner is 70% off.
Online Ghostrunner and Ghostrunner 2 on Steam, according to SteamDB
In early September, One More Level announced that since its release on October 27, 2020, the first Ghostrunner has sold 2.5 million copies. The developers noted that they were preparing to announce a circulation of 2 million copies, but on the eve of the sequel's release, gamers began actively buying up the original.
