Indie publisher Devolver Digital has revealed which of its IPs has generated the most revenue, as its shares its strategy for the future.
One of the slides in the company’s latest investor presentation shows the lifetime revenue of 10 of its most successful first-part and third-party franchises.
According to its list, third-party release Cult of the Lamb is the publisher’s most successful IP, with total lifetime revenue of more than $90 million.
This is followed by numerous first-party IP, including Astroneer ($80 million), Stronghold ($50 million across 9 games) and Serious Sam ($45 million across 11 games).
According to the slide, “gamers are spending more time on known IPs as opposed to new IPs”, and Devolver plans to respond to this by “leaning further into our own popular IPs in a variety of ways”.
Devolver notes that five of the 10 franchises on the list already have sequels announced, including Astroneer, Gungeon, The Talos Principle, Gorn and Stronghold (which has two upcoming games – Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition this July, and a new Stronghold developed using Unreal Engine 5).
According to Devolver, its key strategic focus going forward includes:
- Releasing more paid DLC, following successful DLC releases for Cult of the Lamb and Astroneer last year.
- More definitive editions expected in future years.
- A number of sequels being worked on “across popular IPs, both first and third party”.
- A reduced average investment on third-party games, “focused on smaller development budgets with high success potential and scope for future paid DLC”.
- The decision to “right-size” three subsidiaries and giving them “a tighter focus, reducing affected team sizes by approximately 50%”.
- Investment into first-party development to make time and cost more efficient.
- Working with Nintendo to develop Switch 2 games, because the original Switch is its “most successful console for unit sales”.
Devolver’s current release schedule for 2025 and beyond includes Baby Steps, Enter the Gungeon 2, Skate Story, Tenjutsu, Forestrike, Monster Train 2 and Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions.
VGC tried Forestrike at last year’s BitSummit indie festival in Kyoto and marked it as a game to watch. The game has players using foresight to practice increasingly complicated fight sequences in their head, before getting one chance to carry it out in real-time.
“I really enjoyed this one,” we wrote at the time. “It can take a while to figure out more complicated fights but once you find a sequence that works then pull it off in the main fight, it feels like you’re the star in a well choreographed martial arts movie.
“It’s being described as a roguelite and I suppose it is in a sense, because when you die the abilities you gained are carried with you through your next playthrough. It’s a pretty loose use of the term, though. Don’t worry about what box it fits into: it’s fun.”
