Given the state of the video game industry right now, it’s important to celebrate every victory and good surprise that comes our way. That means you celebrate when something “expected” goes to plan, and you celebrate when a game that you didn’t think would do that well comes out of the gate roaring and sells incredibly well. One such title from 2024 was Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2. This title by Saber Interactive was the sequel to the Xbox 360 game that had been in development for a long time. The title’s focus was once again to make you “Feel Like A Space Marine,” while also pushing single-player and co-op campaign play to a new level. It worked, and the game sold millions with ease.
In an interview with The Game Business, Saber Interactive’s partner in making the game, Pullup Entertainment, had their CEO, Geoffroy Sardin, talk about all the games that they’ve helped make and are making right now, and even he admitted that he didn’t expect this particular game to do so well:
“It’s exactly what happened with Space Marine 2. To be very frank, we didn’t believe before we launched that we could hit seven million unique players. It was incredible for us. The word of mouth, combined with the perfect execution done by our partner Saber Interactive, meant we managed to expand the audience from the passionate Warhammer people, to people who can enjoy all the features of Space Marine 2.”
It’s understandable that he wouldn’t expect that much from this game, as it had been quite a while since the original had come, and there are many within the industry who believe that “single-player titles are being phased out,” which we should all know by now is a false statement of the highest order. Instead, 2025 is showing us that single-player titles still have a lot to give the gaming industry as a whole, especially in universes that have rich stories to tap into.
The CEO noted that for Pullup Entertainment, they want to give players something special, and not something that they’ve already seen before:
“The road to success for us is based on a simple idea: players are looking for niche and very targeted, impactful experiences. The core of our manifesto is we do not design and produce games for everyone. We design and produce games for someone. And when the execution is good, [it might] end up resonating with many more people.
We wish them luck in their next games!
