Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice launched onto PlayStation 4 and PC in August. Last month, the developer was able to announce that the game had broken-even in sales, despite its expectations being much lower. However, at that time, Ninja Theory wasn’t able to provide specifics regarding the title’s success. Today, that changed with the release of the game’s last development diary.
Something the team at Ninja Theory seemed most nervous about before Hellblade‘s launch was whether the public would accept the game’s portrayal of mental health. As detailed in previous interviews and dev diaries, the team put a lot of effort into researching the subject. However, it seems that their concerns were unwarranted with the deluge of praise that followed launch day and the success in sales that came with it.
According to Ninja Theory’s records, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice sold over 250,000 copies across both PlayStation 4 and PC, whereas it was only expected to sell around 150,000 units. Right now, three months after the game’s release, Ninja Theory says that the game has surpassed its break-even point, and has become profitable with over 500,000 copies sold. So far, the game has had a total revenue of $13 million, with a development cycle of three years and an average team size of around 20.
Ninja Theory explains that it believes the AAA indie model it has established can also be successful for other studios, which is why it has documented the game’s progress over 30 development diaries. You can find the 30th and final Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice development diary in the video below.
If you’re curious how DualShockers received Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, you should read our glowing review of it!