Housemarque, the studio behind PlayStation titles Returnal and Saros, is looking to the long game for its latest release. Despite Saros' slower initial sales compared to its predecessor Returnal, the Finnish developer is drawing parallels to the evolutionary success of FromSoftware, a studio that cultivated a dedicated following over decades.
Mikael Haveri, Housemarque's brand director, noted that Returnal itself experienced a delayed surge in popularity. "Returnal, when we shipped it, it started gaining traction a bit later," Haveri stated in an interview with The Game Business. He explained that community engagement and word-of-mouth can significantly influence a game's trajectory.
Co-founder and studio head Ilari Kuittinen emphasized that the current discussion around Saros is merely the beginning. "This is just the start of the discussion and conversation with the gaming community," Kuittinen said. "If you have played Saros, you know that there are a lot of things that we can do and tweak and add."
The studio sees Saros, a challenging third-person bullet-hell roguelike, as an opportunity to educate the market about its specific genre, often characterized by intense action and the "bullet ballet" aesthetic. This approach mirrors FromSoftware's journey, which began with niche titles like King's Field and gradually built a massive audience leading to mainstream hits like Elden Ring.
"You mentioned FromSoftware, that's one of the points we are discussing here," Kuittinen remarked. "What Demon's Souls was or even earlier games: they've been doing kind of a similar genre for a very long time and built up their fan base for the longest period of time." Housemarque aims to foster a similar organic growth, educating players about the appeal of their games and nurturing a loyal player base that supports their future endeavors.
Housemarque acknowledges the challenges of releasing niche titles in a crowded market and is committed to continuing development on Saros, incorporating player feedback through patches. The studio is focused on forging its own direction in the industry, ensuring its survival and continued creative freedom.