In a recent Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, Mediatonic employees were candid about some of the decisions related toFall Guys' development. Regarding why Mediatonic and publisher Devolver Digital chose PS+, the game’s senior community manager had an interesting response. Specifically, Mediatonic says it was inspired by how well aPS+ launch worked forRocket League.
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WhenRocket Leaguelaunched in 2015, no one could have expected its success. The developer’s previous game hadn’t left a mark, but Sony saw something special in the competitive car-based soccer game. However, it wasn’t an instant success. The game’s first several days led to over 100,000 players. But the due to the game’s free access and a viral word of mouth campaign,Rocket Leaguehad millions of downloadsbefore the end of its PS+ availability. The game’s success since then is self-evident.
Fall Guysis trying to do everythingRocket Leaguedid, not only going on PS+ but also having a summer launch where competition is thinner. But that doesn’t meanFall Guysis following the same path to success.Devolver’s aggressive beta testing, getting codes into the hands of livestreamers, and its social media presence have seemingly already guaranteed its success.Fall Guyslooks like it will grow its playerbase significantly faster thanRocket Leaguecome launch.
To Mediatonic’s credit, it doesn’t talk about PS+ as a path to success, though.Fall Guys' lead designer also responded to the question about PS+. To him,launchingFall Guyson PS+was a “dream” specifically because it meant the game would have lots of players. Success is certainly a product of that, but most game developers truly do just want to see their games be played.
Sony’s part in this equation definitely deserves to be acknowledged, too. Apparently, in Mediatonic’s first meeting with Sony, the topic of a PS+ launch was brought up “almost immediately.” Sony knewFall Guyshad potential straight away. A lot went into gettingFall Guysprepared for successat launch. And now other indie games may aspire to beFall Guysas opposed toRocket Leaguegoing forward.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockoutlaunches on PC and PS4 on August 4.
