Outriders dev didn't get royalties yet, Square won't say how much it sold

[Gizmo_Duck]

But wait, i thought this game was a major success on gamepass? Where are the profits?

Outriders dev (People Can Fly) didn't get royalties for Outriders, which means Square has not yet recuperated its production, marketing and distrubution budget. What's curious, PCF has no idea how much copies Square sold, which sound like an important piece of information in a deal like that.

"We don't have any data about Outriders sales. We're estimating it around 2-3m copies and we assumed it's a result that guarantees profits for the project after first quarter" - Sebastian Wojciechowski, PCF CEO. "The lack of payment probably means that Square Enix has a different opinion."

"Not reaching the break-even point could also mean that the costs were higher than we expected". (Translated from https://www.eurogamer.pl/articles/2...-nie-dostalo-pieniedzy-ze-sprzedazy-outriders).

Wojciechowski also says that they're still working on Outriders with more info coming "soon". Without getting roaylties. He's hoping money will start coming in in future quarters. All in all, it's probably just another day in video games industry. Still pretty weird I think.

" Perhaps it was due to some elements of Square Enix's sales policy, the details of which we do not know, such as partnerships concluded by the Publisher with distribution platforms or entities offering Outriders as an addition to their products. Failure to achieve the level of profitability may also mean that the costs incurred by the Publisher are higher than expected. But I don't want to speculate; we will analyze the situation further. It is worth noting, however, that such explanations take time and our influence on the Publisher's position is limited. His role is leading here. "Admits Wojciechowski.

Is “concurrent/active players” the new “10 million streams”?

Original polish article:

Polskie People Can Fly nie dostało pieniędzy ze sprzedaży Outriders

Gameindustry article:

People Can Fly suggests Outriders hasn't made a profit

 

[Dorian Breh]

But wait, i thought this game was a major success on gamepass? Where are the profits?





Is “concurrent/active players” the new “10 million streams”?

Original polish article:

Polskie People Can Fly nie dostało pieniędzy ze sprzedaży Outriders

Gameindustry article:

People Can Fly suggests Outriders hasn't made a profit

And what money the game did earn came from PlayStation players buying the game at full price.

Game Pass is going to be the death of a lot of these smaller studios.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

And what money the game did earn came from PlayStation players buying the game at full price.

Game Pass is going to be the death of a lot of these smaller studios.

It proves that a game without MTX is dead on that service

 

[Leasy]

Guys are idiots. This has nothing to do with Gamepass.

 

[Rekkapryde]

It proves that a game without MTX is dead on that service

 

[Animal House]

How do you not know the payment structure of a company your contracted with

 

[Rekkapryde]

nikkaz signed a Cash Money Records Contract with Square

 

[Legal]

Guys are idiots. This has nothing to do with Gamepass.

I agree that for now, it's not about GamePass, but it won't take long before the conversation turns to that.

If it turns out that XBox was the most successful platform the game was on, then it's pretty easy for people to come to the conclusion that giving the game away on GamePass was the root cause.

But the real story is that Square Enix continues its streak of shytting on any Western developer it works with. Sounds like they got jerked by not getting considered in whatever payments Microsoft made for getting it on GamePass.

 

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

"Video game accounting"

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

nikkaz signed a Cash Money Records Contract with Square

Square enix the label, gamepass the DSP.

You signed to one nikka thats signed to another nikka

 

[Rekkapryde]

I agree that for now, it's not about GamePass, but it won't take long before the conversation turns to that.

If it turns out that XBox was the most successful platform the game was on, then it's pretty easy for people to come to the conclusion that giving the game away on GamePass was the root cause.

But the real story is that Square Enix continues its streak of shytting on any Western developer it works with. Sounds like they got jerked by not getting considered in whatever payments Microsoft made for getting it on GamePass.

Putting the shyt on GP means Square gotta compensate for the loss in revenue on retail sales. So that means that the Devs prob didn't have it in their deal to get a cut from GP revenue. Sounds like the ScarJo and others situations with streaming and theater revenue compensation.

These devs betta smarten up and make sure they got themselves covered on all basis for game distribution and revenue with their royalties. Not the fault of Xbox directly, it's Square...and ultimately them.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

Putting the shyt on GP means Square gotta compensate for the loss in revenue on retail sales. So that means that the Devs prob didn't have it in their deal to get a cut from GP revenue. Sounds like the ScarJo and others situations with streaming and theater revenue compensation.

These devs betta smarten up and make sure they got themselves covered on all basis for game distribution and revenue with their royalties. Not the fault of Xbox directly, it's Square...and ultimately them.

But its also well within Squares right to take that bag if they funded the game, to make sure they are out of the red. Every publisher is gonna put that gamepass money back into development cost.

The problem is the lack of transparency with the numbers and the fact that no additional profits are being made out that deal due to Outriders not having MTX or any additional revenue streams. The gamepass model will not work for AAA single player or non-mtx based games. Because even if there are a lot of players on gamepass its not bringing any additional revenue unlike MLB The Show so the dev won’t see royalites like they would if people were still buying it retail.

 

[Rekkapryde]

But its also well within Squares right to take that bag if they funded the game, to make sure they are out of the red. Every publisher is gonna put that gamepass money back into development cost.

The problem is the lack of transparency with the numbers and the fact that no additional profits are being made out that deal due to Outriders not having MTX or any additional revenue streams. The gamepass model will not work for AAA single player or non-mtx based games. Because even if there are a lot of players on gamepass its not bringing any additional revenue unlike MLB The Show so the dev won’t see royalites like they would if people were still buying it retail.

100% true

 

[Leasy]

I agree that for now, it's not about GamePass, but it won't take long before the conversation turns to that.

If it turns out that XBox was the most successful platform the game was on, then it's pretty easy for people to come to the conclusion that giving the game away on GamePass was the root cause.

But the real story is that Square Enix continues its streak of shytting on any Western developer it works with. Sounds like they got jerked by not getting considered in whatever payments Microsoft made for getting it on GamePass.

No it doesn't Jesus. Gamepass pay an upfront fee to the developer or publisher for the title with that in mind, the game developer also recieve funds for how many times the game was downloaded.

This is Square Enix being like music record labels not wanting to pay the developer for their work. I assume the developer didn't have their shyt in order because this is the only time I have heard of this in the video game industry. Square Enix is Puff Daddy Bad Boy these nikkas.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

No it doesn't Jesus. Gamepass pay an upfront fee to the developer or publisher for the title with that in mind, the game developer also recieve funds for how many times the game was downloaded.

This is Square Enix being like music record labels not wanting to pay the developer for their work. I assume the developer didn't have their shyt in order because this is the only time I have heard of this in the video game industry. Square Enix is Puff Daddy Bad Boy these nikkas.

Proof/numbers on how much devs are making per download?