There are many trends in the gaming space that many just assume will work due to how many people and developers have done them in the past to “great success.” For example, you know all about the remasters and remakes that have swept over the gaming industry in the last several years with varying degrees of success, and that’s not the only thing devs have done. One thing they also do is “anniversary editions” of their games, where they upgrade the titles slightly and add new content. The Braid Anniversary Edition was released back in May, and many had high expectations for it.
To its credit, it took the legendary 2008 title and upgraded it for modern systems while also putting in things like commentary and other features. The hope was that it would be a “shot in the arm” for the team behind it, headed up by creator Jonathan Blow. When it came out, the game stunned people with its unique gameplay mechanics and the fun story that shocked players by the time they got to the end.
However, according to one fan of Jonathan Blow, who recorded his various clips from the Twitch channel he used, things haven’t been going so well for the Braid Anniversary Edition.
The clips start near the release date, where Blow commented that it was a bit “early” to see what the game had done sales-wise:
“I’ll put it this way, we’re definitely not sure. It’s not like we sold a million copies on day one, which is what you’d expect. It’s a remaster, right? So you don’t expect it to be like a new game in terms of the hype level. But we just have to see where it lands.”
That’s fair to say, as these editions aren’t meant to be blockbuster releases, but ways for players to get the game for their newer systems, or to appeal to those who never played it before.
However, as time went on, Blow’s comments about the game got more depressing, including saying that they were “not good” at one point and that the “future is uncertain” for his team.
This led to a question about a new programming language he was working on, where he was asked about when it would be released and how many people were aboard the project. He noted:
“None, because we can’t afford to pay anyone because the sales are bad.”
The full video is below. If this is true, it would be a sad end to the team behind a great title.
