Alone in the Dark Reboot Flopped, Embracer Says After Laying Off Staff

[CloseTalker]

It didn't look very good, didn't review very well, and released at a genuinely terrible time (though I don't really think this had a huge impact on sales). Not sure why they went with hollywood actors either, that kind of thing just inflates the budget needlessly and doesn't seem like it would bump sales

 

[hydro94530]

Outcast was fun as hell!! Has some of the best traversal mechanics in any open world game to me. So much fun, I'm sad but not surprised at this news.

 

[Duxxy3]

Reviews were not good. Games with poor reviews tend not to sell.

 

[mael]

I'm not even sure I made it out of the first building. I have vague memories of rappelling down the side of a burning building and finding it to be a cinematic experience of a nightmare to control.

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I'm pretty sure the 1st car section killed my run.
I liked the menu system, can't say I like much more than that.
I usually NEVER sell my games but I did sell a bunch of them to get Mario Galaxy 2.
I don't even know if that game was part of that purge.
I certainly miss Go Vacation much much more

 

[Vaern]

Cursed franchise.

 

[DreamsthatFade]

The demo wasn't very inspiring and the actors weren't a big draw for me. I don't dislike them but don't think they're gonna result in millions of game sales lol.

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

It really sucks to see more lay off's but it shows just how brutal the industry really right now. Feels like there is no room for any mid tier games right now, it's gotta be a mega hit or your in trouble.

 

[Fisty]

Maybe AAA isn't the best route for a dusty ass IP like Alone in the Dark in this market

I assume Outcast's projections were more in line with what they got since I have no idea who was clamoring for another one of those games

 

[Scotty]

No one in the world except John Lindemann was asking for an Outcast sequel 20 years later. That game was never going to sell ever. Alone in the dark also had no chance. Only resident evil sells. Silent Hill 2 ain't going to meet Konami's expectations when that releases too.

 

[NDA-Man]

That is very unfortunate because the reboot is pretty decent and I would have loved to see them continuing the franchise.
Looks like the big Survival Horror comeback just fizzled out.

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As Fanny mentioned, it wasn't really a thing. Resident Evil pivoted back to horror and did Resident Evil numbers. That's it. REVII had a somewhat slow start but tremendous legs, 2r hit well, 3r was weaker but likely much cheaper to make. But like, they all were in the rough ballpark of what RE was doing saleswise before the pivot.

Dead Space might've done Dead Space numbers, which are dramatically lower than Resident Evil numbers. Callisto faceplanted, Alone in the Dark didn't do great.

It's a wait and see on Silent Hill, but I'm not holding my breath.

Like the big Survival Horror comeback was RE doing well, when it was always the outlier in terms of horror sales. The other companies who hopped in on the comeback shouldn't have hoped for RE sales as all their brands are dramatically less prominent.

 

[Burbank]

I feel this franchise has been rebooted and flopped like 5 times after one 30 yo success.

 

[Alucrid]

see you all in 2040 for the next reboot

 

[Son of Sparda]

Sadly the writing seemed to be on the wall for this game even before it was released.

 

[Aiqops]

Ip has had zero pull for decades, I don't even know why they try so often. Guess a known name is better than nothing.

 

[cowbanana]

Alone in the Dark wasn't really on my radar.

But I'm sad to say that I didn't buy Outcast: A New Beginning yet. I simply didn't have time for it and I still don't. I used to just buy games and stick them on the backlog, but I'm done doing that because it is dumb. Now I try to only buy games when I'm actually ready to play them. Outcast will be played at one point, but not any time soon.

 

[Sol C. Johnson]

there was a new Alone in the Dark?

After I bought this day 1

Not sure I'm ever on the market for more from that IP.

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I am SO sorry.

 

[Reflecting Sky]

Completed the Edward Carnby story two weeks ago, and overall, I had a great time with it. Wouldn't be surprised if it's gonna go down as a cult classic or a "lost gem of a game".

But unfortunately I'm not surprised by it not selling well, with an almost non-existing marketing campaign.

 

[Sword Familiar]

Put me in the camp that didn't even know it was out.

 

[AgentOtaku]

David and Jodie were fantastic in this but... I never actually beat it. Why? Bugged as shit and I literally hit a point in Ch.4 were I couldn't continue. :(

Great atmosphere, great performances, so-so gameplay with bad QA.

 

[Soap]

Alone in the Dark is one of those IPs that is utterly worthless to most millennials let alone any generation after. It's a boomer franchise like pitfall or something.

Obviously very sad for people losing their job.

 

[barbarash22]

Oh, and Outcast as well. Also a bummer because I am currently playing it, like RIGHT NOW, it's idling in the background while typing this, and I enjoy the hell out of it.

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Same here, it's a great game.
Just yesterday I climbed the huge tower-like mountain in the desert area with the village on top and this might be the best area in a game in a long time.
The scenery is beautiful, characters have funny dialogues und gliding so high up there to the different points of interest is just awesome.

 

[Scotty]

As Fanny mentioned, it wasn't really a thing. Resident Evil pivoted back to horror and did Resident Evil numbers. That's it. REVII had a somewhat slow start but tremendous legs, 2r hit well, 3r was weaker but likely much cheaper to make. But like, they all were in the rough ballpark of what RE was doing saleswise before the pivot.

Dead Space might've done Dead Space numbers, which are dramatically lower than Resident Evil numbers. Callisto faceplanted, Alone in the Dark didn't do great.

It's a wait and see on Silent Hill, but I'm not holding my breath.

Like the big Survival Horror comeback was RE doing well, when it was always the outlier in terms of horror sales. The other companies who hopped in on the comeback shouldn't have hoped for RE sales as all their brands are dramatically less prominent.

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Yeah it really is only a resident evil thing. And the one company that can actually duplicate this and still be a success is Capcom itself. If they made a Dino crisis remake it would sell.

 

[erikNORML]

Sometimes dead…is better.

As much as I've liked some AitD over the years, might be time to just mothball it indefinitely. Anything that made it unique and have it its own reason to exist is only remembered by the few of us who still vaguely remember the originals, after so many false starts and reboots the brand basically just means "generic survival horror" than anything tied to any memorable character/story/mechanics.

 

[NDA-Man]

Yeah it really is only a resident evil thing. And the one company that can actually duplicate this and still be a success is Capcom itself. If they made a Dino crisis remake it would sell.

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I dunno. I think the strength is literally the RE brand, rather than "horror by Capcom". Like, Dino Crisis was RE's less popular kid brother twenty-five years ago, and hasn't been a going concern for over twenty.

Even at its "nadir" in terms of fan response, it was still selling millions of units and tied to a frankly massive movie franchise (albeit the expense of 6 with lesser returns led to the series being in limbo for a while, and diminishing returns hit the movie franchise). It has far more mindshare outside horror gamers than just about any other horror franchise.

Like, I'm not saying it couldn't do okay, but I'm thinking that it definitely would perform much worse than RE.

 

[Brat-Sampson]

I knew this was out mostly because I watched Huber and Gabbie from Easy Allies go through the Horror Experience they set up for games journos / streamers.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdJqoHHldtE

Shame the actual game was reportedly pretty mid.

 

[cgpartlow]

I actually am interested in this game, but not at full price. I probably will pick it up during a sale despite the mediocre reviews.

 

[evilgenius]

I actually am interested in this game, but not at full price. I probably will pick it up during a sale despite the mediocre reviews.

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same

 

[Light Valyis]

I didn't even realize the game released, I had heard about it but didn't know when it was scheduled to release

 

[Arukado]

I enjoyed the game quite a bit, and i am glad it was made, but i'm also not surprised.

 

[StrappingYoungLance]

I really wish it had turned out better and it's awful that a bunch of people lost their jobs regardless. I hate that flops are so punishing. It feels like there's no room for studios to learn and grow if they don't knock it out of the park. (Even that's no guarantee for survival)

 

[dgrdsv]

Reviews were not good. Games with poor reviews tend not to sell.

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In these cases they probably wouldn't sell even if they'd got 95 MC average.
Not enough marketing, ads, anything which would let people know what these games are.
They've basically made them for those who remember the previous entries - which launched 10-20 years ago.

 

[Grunty]

Disappointing to hear. Just bought and played through the game a few weeks ago. Very cool experience that's very reminiscent of Resident Evil 1 with its focus on puzzles over zombies and such. But a good narrative and good acting to go with it.

 

[Kazuhira]

It was an uphill battle since it was announced but they've tried at least. oh well.. i did my part.
I know it doesn't mean much when the bar was that low but it's the best game since 4 imo.
I liked this dev team, it feels like they could've nailed the formula with a sequel.

 

[PLASTICA-MAN]

That sucks tbh. I was interested in the game tbh but I knew it wouldn't be a big shot one. Didn't expect to flop that badly to the extent of firing devs. By the end of this decade we will have few hundreds devs left doing one game per decade. Sigh....

 

[N1corex]

it didnt launch in a great state and i had to wait a month for some performance patch.

 

[mgfanjay]

It's out now?!

 

[Sesha]

The franchise has been dormant for ages, game got mediocre reviews, the last game was mega shit, and they released it a day after MLB 24 and HiFi Rush PS5, a day before Horizon 2 PC and FF14 Xbox, and two days before DD2 and RotR. Game had zero chance.

 

[Chance Hale]

Game will definitely become a cult classic, has a really striking dreamy tone and the combat is fine outside of the laughable melee animations.

Game would have reviewed way, way better if they'd been given a bit more time to work on the melee and fix some of the jank like getting stuck in the environment. Later is surprisingly prevalent for a big release

Shame

 

[bushmonkey]

I love the AitD franchise. It holds a special place in my heart and I had no idea this had actually come out.
How can you have David Harbour and Jodie Comer and fail to get the word out? That sounds like bad marketing strategy first and foremost.

 

[Black Soma]

Shame, it's actually pretty decent even though it could use some polish. Launching right next to Dragon's Dogma 2 probably didn't help either.

 

[DJwest]

That demo with the kid was awful so I'm waiting for a deep discount

 

[daninthemix]

It's a stale IP, they needed to come out swinging or not at all.

 

[pbayne]

ngl every time i saw it on the psn store with stranger things guy front and centre, it always felt like a weird "fake" game if you know what i mean. Just an oddity of how/why did that get made now

 

[Kratos2098]

They said Outcast Second flopped too but what did they expect? They asked $70 for something that most people have never even heard of. Should've priced both of these lower and done more to promote them

 

[CloseTalker]

They said Outcast Second flopped too but what did they expect? They asked $70 for something that most people have never even heard of. Should've priced both of these lower and done more to promote them

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I've been waiting for a sale on that one, I actually think it looks pretty solid

 

[Scotty]

I dunno. I think the strength is literally the RE brand, rather than "horror by Capcom". Like, Dino Crisis was RE's less popular kid brother twenty-five years ago, and hasn't been a going concern for over twenty.

Even at its "nadir" in terms of fan response, it was still selling millions of units and tied to a frankly massive movie franchise (albeit the expense of 6 with lesser returns led to the series being in limbo for a while, and diminishing returns hit the movie franchise). It has far more mindshare outside horror gamers than just about any other horror franchise.

Like, I'm not saying it couldn't do okay, but I'm thinking that it definitely would perform much worse than RE.

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Oh it would definitely perform worse than RE. It would never sell six million copies. But if someone is going to make another third person survival horror game in the vein of the RE remakes. Capcom themselves would probably be most likely to succeed.

If I was embracer I would have put together a smaller budgeted throwback to the old school style of survival horror with alone in the dark to gauge interest before they throw millions and millions of dollars into a big budget third person shooter.

 

[Santar]

Survival horror really is a tricky genre. Apart from Capcom it seems there's incredibly few who have managed to actually nail the genre. And by genre I mean the RE1/RE2make style of gameplay.
AITD reboot just didn't feel good to play to me. Moving around felt clunky and stiff and the combat wasn't anything to write home about either.

 

[L11ghtman]

Legacy IP will probably continue to struggle as its target demo for its glory year entries ages out of the primary consumer demographic (do the kids even know what Alone in the Dark is?) I have the same worries about Indiana Jones. CoD and Madden are sort of bulletproof here because they release every single year, so they never lose their familiarity. But if you revive an older IP, especially with a very, very different development team, this is what happens.

 

[Buff Beefbroth]

The reviews for it weren't great. I'm still planning to buy it once it hits a decent sale tho.

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Same. And as far as I've seen, there hasn't been much of one.

 

[SaintNicholas98]

Maybe they have a marketing problem

I say this because this thread was how I found out that that new Outcast fucking released