Making Firewatch: Decisions along the way
summary
Lead artist-led studio Campo Santo funds development with Panic, uses Unity, signs a six-month Sony console exclusivity, and times a February 2016 launch to avoid big holiday releases. Mid-development the team rewrote the last third to improve the ending, delaying from October 2015. Pricing launches at $19.99 with a $25 soundtrack bundle (about half of launch-week purchases choose the bundle). Firewatch sold 1.5 million copies to date, made back investment in one day, and generates ~$200k in merch sales; Steam, PS4, Panic’s demo events and a photo-print tie-in drive visibility.
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