We’ve talked multiple times on this channel about the importance of game sales. They are the biggest metric by which studios are able to tell how successful a title they release is. Granted, not all sales are “the same” based on who made them, who published them, and whether the game is a new entry/IP or the next entry in a franchise. However, the numbers are important either way. For a group like Moon Studios, they needed sales for Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel to do well so that they could keep making games. Thankfully, that was indeed the case, and the games are still selling very well.
According to Moon Studios head Thomas Mahler, the franchise has now crossed 15 million units sold! That’s an impressive number, given that there are technically only two games in the franchise. That “technically” line is about how there are definitive editions out there, but those are still pretty much the same as what came out before.
Arguably, the best line from the reveal isn’t the sales number, but the bit about how Ori and the Blind Forest was told NOT to be a Metroidvania game by others due to how the “genre was dead.” Yeah, we’re pretty sure they were wrong about that:
Not only was the game a huge hit when it originally came out, it helped put Moon Studios on the map. Not to mention, the game was praised for its unique look and aesthetic and how the game’s story was so moving. It was not an uncommon occurrence to hear that people cried while playing the first game. The sequel was no less gripping, all the while improving the combat to stand out even more and allow players to have even more fun with it. So, again, Moon Studios made the right call by making the game the way it wanted to.
Thomas Mahler has been very vocal about that in the past. That includes how the team is fine not having an owner, because Mahler himself was part of a team that was bought by EA once upon a time and he felt it was the worst thing ever, and he doesn’t want history to repeat itself.
In contrast, he feels his team is great at making games without the “restrictions” of other companies, so you can expect them to put their all into the next game they make and the one after that.
