Game News Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a huge success, has already sold nearly 500,000 copies

[Infinitron]

Tags: Divinity: Original Sin 2; Larian Studios; Swen Vincke

The Codex community has already amassed a good number of complaints about Divinity: Original Sin 2 since its release four days ago, but that hasn't stopped the game from being a massive success. This weekend it broke the 85,000 concurrent player count, more than double that of all previous Kickstarted RPGs. This kind of news isn't as surprising in the era of SteamSpy, but just as he did after the release of the first game, Swen Vincke has informed the gentlemen at Eurogamer that Original Sin 2 has already sold nearly 500,000 copies. I quote:

It's been a bombastic start for independent computer role-playing game Divinity: Original Sin 2, which has raced to nearly 500,000 sales on PC after being fully released four days ago.

"It is fantastic," Swen Vincke, owner of developer and publisher Larian Studios, told me this morning, "but it is also way beyond what we expected. We're close to hitting 500K units sold which is a number I believe took us two or three months with Divinity: Original Sin 1."

Divinity: Original Sin 2 had been available via Steam Early Access for a year leading up to last week's release. Vincke said the game added nearly 180K sales since the 14th September launch.

The unfortunate side effect of such popularity - a concurrent-player CRPG Steam record (from what I can tell) of 85K players - has meant Larian's servers have struggled to cope but, Vincke said, "We should have them up and running again soon."

Whether this strong indication of runaway success for Divinity: Original Sin 2 means console versions are now a thumbs up - Larian was waiting to see how the sequel sold on PC - remains to be seen, but early signs are good.

"As for the console versions, we're now focused on delivering our first patch for the PC version, something that is scheduled for this week," said Vincke. "Lots of players means lots of support issues coming in and we're trying to service them as fast as we can. After that, it'll be a long well deserved break for the team and then we'll boot up our machines again to work on the next things."
​

For the past couple of years we've often spoken of a kind of "sequel fatigue syndrome", where the sequels to seemingly popular titles repeatedly perform significantly worse as mass audiences realize that the gameplay wasn't their thing after all. Thanks to Larian, that's been proven not to be a universal law. What next for Divinity: Original Sin 2, then? It sounds like even they're not sure yet, but with these sales numbers, the sky's the limit.

 

[Anthony Davis]

That's fantastic news!

One project I'm glad I kickstarted.

 

[Infinitron]

That's fantastic news!

Last paragraph is why it's also potentially fantastic news for Obsidian. "How to be a Larian and not an Arkane or Eidos Montreal" is a question that will undoubtedly echo through your halls

 

[Anthony Davis]

That's fantastic news!

Last paragraph is why it's also potentially fantastic news for Obsidian. "How to be a Larian and not an Arkane or Eidos Montreal" is a question that will undoubtedly echo through your halls

I think it shows the value in iteration.
I think it shows the value in a unified vision.

Those things right there can be held to no matter your budget or operating costs.

I also think it shows the value in TB mechanics - and that there is a market for them, but not every game can or should be TB.

I also believe that every RPG game success, no matter how "hardcore" or "casual", broadens the market, which is a good thing.

 

[Infinitron]

That's fantastic news!

Last paragraph is why it's also potentially fantastic news for Obsidian. "How to be a Larian and not an Arkane or Eidos Montreal" is a question that will undoubtedly echo through your halls

I think it shows the value in iteration.
I think it shows the value in a unified vision.

Those things right there can be held to no matter your budget or operating costs.

I also think it shows the value in TB mechanics - and that there is a market for them, but not every game can or should be TB.

I also believe that every RPG game success, no matter how "hardcore" or "casual", broadens the market, which is a good thing.

The possible lesson here, IMO (and also from Tyranny even though it isn't technically a sequel): Less grimness. Audiences have had enough of GRIM WORLDS WHERE YOU WILL MAKE GRIM CHOICES.

Big, bright, colorful worlds don't even need to tell you you'll get to make choices. They seem to inherently convey escapism, freedom and possibilities. The open-ended sea exploration aspect of PoE2 bodes well in that respect, but you'll have to emphasize it.

 

[Murk]

There is some irony to this big bright world that features human beings being ripped of their soul essence and turned to slaves, some of whom are then physically mutilated and sexually abused.

Anyway, this is great news. Been loving the game so far.

 

[Spectacle]

Think of the cool games Larian will be able to make with this kind of money!
:mrpresident:

 

[Hines]

Even the enthusiast press love the game. Game Informer gave Original Sin 2 a 9.75/10.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is one of the greatest PC RPGs of all time, and Larian’s continued dedication to creating incredible freeform adventures inspired by tabletop lineage is inspiring and commendable. A few bugs and frustrating encounters are small prices to pay for a lavish ensemble of the genre’s best and a one-of-a-kind experience.

 

[Arkeus]

The possible lesson here, IMO (and also from Tyranny even though it isn't technically a sequel): Less grimness. Audiences have had enough of GRIM WORLDS WHERE YOU WILL MAKE GRIM CHOICES.

Big, bright, colorful worlds don't even need to tell you you'll get to make choices. They seem to inherently convey escapism, freedom and possibilities. The open-ended sea exploration aspect of PoE2 bodes well in that respect, but you'll have to emphasize it.

I don't know if D:OS2 is such a non-grim world though. Lots of nasty stuff right from the get go happening there. Those poor animals

 

[Mortmal]

Think of the cool games Larian will be able to make with this kind of money!
:mrpresident:

Yes i was worried this game could suffer the same fate as grimrock 2, improving on every aspects but selling a lot less. Glad the future of divos 3 is assured now, or maybe finally a dragonlance game using the same engine and hiring Margaret Weis as writer.

 

[himmy]

The possible lesson here, IMO (and also from Tyranny even though it isn't technically a sequel): Less grimness. Audiences have had enough of GRIM WORLDS WHERE YOU WILL MAKE GRIM CHOICES.

Big, bright, colorful worlds don't even need to tell you you'll get to make choices. They seem to inherently convey escapism, freedom and possibilities. The open-ended sea exploration aspect of PoE2 bodes well in that respect, but you'll have to emphasize it.

I don't know if D:OS2 is such a non-grim world though. Lots of nasty stuff right from the get go happening there. Those poor animals

That's just it. It's a world that doesn't try really hard to show you how crapsack and grimdark everything is. Horrible things don't happen exclusively in devastated, scorched lands, but in green and sunny meadows, as well. I'll take Larian's twisted fairytale approach to fantasy any time over the everything is dark and hopeless and edgy approach that has been so popular over the last decade or so.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Too bad it's a shit game, but great news for the genre nonetheless. It's just a kick in the ass classic RPGs needed to catch a second wind after Kickstarter-era revival started to stagnate. These are near AAA level numbers they are pulling, and that kind of success should prompt more devs to look into good ol' TB isometric cRPG combo.

 

[Zeriel]

Too bad it's a shit game, but great news for the genre nonetheless. It's just a kick in the ass classic RPGs needed to catch a second wind after Kickstarter-era revival started to stagnate. These are near AAA level numbers they are pulling, and that kind of success should prompt more devs to look into good ol' TB isometric cRPG combo.

Let's be real. They're going to look at it and go, "Oh, so co-op and multiplayer shenanigans are what make RPGs viable."

Think of the cool games Larian will be able to make with this kind of money!
:mrpresident:

A big-budget, AAA first person co-op RPG where enemies have shields? They could call it--and I'm just spitballing here--Mass Effect?

 

[evdk]

Well deserved.

Game is irritatingly fun, even if Orma is a loot hoarding faggit.

 

[Gecos]

Well done Larian for entertaining (especially) the casual crowds and making money out of it. Quite the magician's trick...

Now when it comes to actual RPG fans, some of the design decisions, while looking cool at first sight, should've ringed alarm bells very soon after being trialed out.

Physical and Magic Armor, making (forcing) you to decide to either go for a full fighter party or full magic party as to not split the damage. On tactical it's a must, with the scaling and bloated stats of even the most mundane of mobs, especially during and after Act 2.

What was the idea behind initiative only counting for one character? Was supposed to be "tactical" and "rpg", not a bar brawl with you, me, you, me and let's see who's still standing at the end of the fight.

Save scumming on every chest, quest, boss drop since you flood us with greens on tactical. The average vendor having better inventory (and better chances for purples) than the drops from that tough boss you've been eyeing for the past few levels.

Speaking of tough fights, best strategy remains chestmancing with a x tonne chest, hands down, never fails. But...meh.

Not mentioning the rest as this is enough for me to give it a go again only at the enhanced edition and not even mentioning the crashes and bugs, that's what the patches are for.

 

[Sentinel]

Isn't this counting Early Access numbers as well?

 

[dragonul09]

Isn't this counting Early Access numbers as well?

Kinda,from my calculations they sold like 270k-300k if you don't count EA

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

Look at that, a massive commercial TB success; which is huge fun despite the butthurt here from special snowflakes about tacticool mode (justifiable tbh, but workaround to cut armor bloat is there already)


But sadly other major publishers will go, look at that Fully voice acted RPG with shields and emotionally engaging companions!!! Let us make a First Person RPG shooter; win win !!!1!

 

[Lyre Mors]

Really happy for Larian! Hopefully this urges them and other developers to continue going in the right direction. As of right now, my favorite kickstarted game ever.

 

[Mastermind]

i hope they do well so I don't feel bad when i inevitably pirate it

 

[Ivan]

TB RPG by Obsidian. WHEN?

 

[Sensuki]

South Park

 

[Nano]

South Park

Turnbased RPG. Stick of Truth is as much of an RPG as JRPGs.

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

South Park

Doesn't Count as it has shitty Quick Time Events.

 

[Kleptocratic debt serf]

The possible lesson here, IMO (and also from Tyranny even though it isn't technically a sequel): Less grimness. Audiences have had enough of GRIM WORLDS WHERE YOU WILL MAKE GRIM CHOICES.

Big, bright, colorful worlds don't even need to tell you you'll get to make choices. They seem to inherently convey escapism, freedom and possibilities. The open-ended sea exploration aspect of PoE2 bodes well in that respect, but you'll have to emphasize it.

So, you're saying Obisidian needs a Colour revolution?

As for the D:OS2 success, I'm not surprised, Swen is an infectious character and his Kickstarter vids were on point and entertaining. Feargus needs to go to CEO school of Swen.