Lethal Company outselling COD is a welcome surprise
One of the best things about modern PC gaming is a bubbling scene for Early Access titles. Some of these hits on Steam unexpectedly become successful. It happened with Phasmophobia a few years back, and the same thing can be said for BattleBit Remastered this summer.
Lethal Company is the most recent content that has leaped to Steam’s sales charts. The co-op survival horror game largely became popular due to word of mouth and the views YouTubers and social media outlets have brought. While it’s only available on Steam at the moment, it has quickly become a hit—becoming the top seller on the platform. It’s even surpassed Call of Duty, which is remarkable, given that Lethal Company initially launched with minimal hype.
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Lethal Company Reviews Have Been Stellar
With over 20,000 “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews on Steam, Lethal Company currently sits second on the global top sellers list. Are almost 30,000 playing the game right now, and it’s already beaten out the likes of Baldur’s Gate 3, PUBG, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The only product higher than that is the Steam Deck’s listing.
Lethal Company’s Claim to Fame
What’s behind Lethal Company’s sudden ascent to stardom? Well, the answer lies in its ability to tap into many trends currently popular in PC gaming. You’ve got a four-player cooperative horror title about scavenging resources from abandoned moons that may or may not have living things in them. On behalf of a Weyland-Yutani-esque corporation, your goal is to sell the scrap you find in these areas.
Lethal Company has a retro-futuristic vibe; chock full of CRT-style interfaces, clunky 20th-century technology, and video tape distortions, it’s like the game is a cross between Deep Rock Galactic and Phasmophobia. Moreover, everything is run based on the corporation bigwigs constantly pressuring you to meet the quota in three days. If you don’t meet the quota, well…
Teamwork is another essential point in Lethal Company, as you can only take what you can hold in a round with you. Whether you’re planning to take that last walkie-talkie or flashlight, planning your roles within your team is the key to meeting the quota (and not dying). One of the things reviewers on Steam highlighted was the game’s proximity voice chat, which contributes to both terror and teamwork—cutting off unexpectedly whenever one of your friends is gobbled up by the spider or the Forest Keepers.
Lethal Company Sales Are Skyrocketing
Lethal Company hits on the right ideas at the right time, but it also does these factors in a way that’s either different enough to make it exciting or better than its competitors offer. The game has shown amazing success through its player counter and sales, which have risen exponentially. Based on SteamDB’s stats, the player count has reached more than 180,000 concurrently. This number is no joke, especially since not every AAA title with impressive budgets gets this much player engagement.
In that regard, Lethal Company’s financial achievements are equally remarkable. While it’s priced at a modest $10, the game has already sold more than 642,000 units. This estimate is noted by the GameDiscoverCo’s latest newsletter, with its writer—Simon Carless—suggesting that the horror co-op has generated a gross revenue of around $5.7 million.
Will the Hype for Lethal Company Die Down Soon?
Lethal Company has achieved quite a feat in the gaming world, garnering one of the most impressive arrays of positive feedback. 97% of its 82,000 reviews show glowing endorsements, a significant accomplishment considering the game’s low profile on mainstream media.
As with all things in life, however, not everything lasts forever. Lethal Company may be the star of the show now, but there’s always something new around the corner that could take its top spot. At the very least, the game’s rise to fame can be treated as a wake-up call to all those larger studios out there. Quality games can still exist even with smaller budgets and teams. Lethal Company is a one-man job, and look how it turned out.
The figures of Lethal Company’s sales and continued domination on Steam’s top-selling charts show that you don’t need millions to create a fantastic game. There’s a lot of potential in the indie game genre, which some would state would be the industry’s most innovative, creative, and game-changing genre.
According to the Lethal Company’s developer—Zeekers—the four-player horror co-op will be in Early Access for another six months, though that was what he said before the game became the hit it is now.
