Dead Island 2

Plus: Yes, Manor Lords is a Smash Hit - but How Big?

Manor Lords, a solo-developed city-building and tactical battle game from Slavic Magic and Hooded Horse, launched on Steam at $40 with more than 311,000 followers and quickly exceeded expectations.

• Manor Lords achieved a breakout launch with over 150,000 concurrent users on Steam and is projected to surpass one million copies sold within its first week.
• High-quality, small-team, or solo-developed titles are increasingly outperforming traditional AAA productions, as evidenced by Manor Lords' 89% positive rating and massive pre-release interest from 311,000 Steam followers.
• Recent Steam performance data shows a clear divide, with niche hits like Rotwood reaching 25,300 concurrent users while larger titles like Dead Island 2 and TopSpin 2K25 faced moderate debuts due to technical and monetization issues.