The Steam platform is the largest online store for computer games in the world. And the game from Brno reigns at the top of its sales chart two days after its release. Realistic shooter Gray Zone Warfare from the studio Madfinger Games attacks half a million copies sold, and even if it receives mixed (although improving) reviews due to the technical condition, it simultaneously collects hundreds of millions of crowns.
When a highly anticipated game from a major studio comes out, its sales skyrocket in the hours and days after launch. That’s no surprise. But it is much more rare for a title from the Czech Republic to become the best-selling game on Steam. This is exactly what the tactical action has done now Gray Zone Warfare from home studio Madfinger Games, which was released on the last day of April – and is still on the sales charts on Steam a bestseller. Not even another hit in recent days Manor Lords doesn’t sell better.
“It’s a fantastic feeling, especially in the context of how strong the competition is today. There is a huge amount of work on the game created by a quote handful of people compared to the big studios. And in relatively little time,” says Tomáš Nawar from the studio’s marketing for CzechCrunch.
The developers from Brno already boasted the number of 400,000 players who bought their shooter since its release on Wednesday evening. And in the following hours, tens of thousands more joined them. On the other hand, however, it is also necessary to expect the loss of several percent of interested parties, who have the option of returning video games purchased on Steam within two hours. However, according to the head and co-founder of the studio Marko Rabas, there are less than ten percent of such people.
Of the thirty-five euros for the basic edition of Gray Zone Warfare, after deducting taxes, fees and licenses, we have roughly seventeen euros left.
The representatives of Madfinger did not want to disclose the exact number of units currently sold, but half a million sales are within sight. “We’re getting close to him. How close are we to him? I can only express this poetically – beautifully close,” only Nawar revealed. Either way, it means hundreds of millions of crowns for a development studio that has built its position as one of the largest game companies in the Czech Republic with mobile games.
Gray Zone Warfare it is available in various variants, including a special edition for 2,500 crowns, the most basic one, however, costs roughly 900 crowns. Even on the cautious assumption that the vast majority of interested parties bought only the basic game, this would mean roughly 350 million crowns in sales. However, such a fact that before the release Gray Zone Warfare made it into the top 10 most anticipated games on Steam, it also gives rise to greater optimism.
“Such a successful start is a huge encouragement coupled with great self-confidence to continue developing as we wish. When things don’t go well, studios have to cut back on their plans. I am very happy that this is not our case and that we can add more ideas with full responsibility without economic pressure.” says Nawar. “And I dare say that the launch success means a great responsibility for us to complete the development of the full version so that Gray Zone Warfare is talked about as the best tactical military online shooter in the open world,” he adds with a smile.
Of course, the estimated amount does not immediately mean a third of a billion crowns in Madfinger’s accounts. As Rabas himself stated, the Czech studio will get roughly half of the standard price as a result. “Of the thirty-five euros, after deducting taxes, Steam fees and the license of the Unreal technology, we will have roughly fifty percent, seventeen euros. he commented on social network X an experienced developer who, in addition to Madfinger’s mobile titles, has worked on tactical action in the past Hidden & Dangerous 2.
The game hasn’t shown a lot of things yet, but we’re gradually adding a ton of things that will make players’ jaws drop.
“From this we have to cover the costs of servers, backend and of course salaries, rents, utilities, new hardware, localization, dubbing and a lot more. And we also need to generate some profit so that the shareholders don’t throw me out. Running a multiplayer game is not easy,” Rabas mentioned. GZW is really primarily an online game, but you can also fight against hundreds of computer-controlled opponents on 42 square kilometers of a fictional South Asian country.
The developers also feel support from domestic players. “We were pleased that the Czech Republic was placed in a beautiful 12th position in terms of sales,” adds Nawar. According to him, the right choice of genre attracted people from all over the world. “The market has been calling for this for a long time, so there was nothing to wait for. Then there’s execution and great depth in various design directions, such as ballistics simulation or a comprehensive health system. There’s a lot the game hasn’t shown yet, but we’ll be adding a ton of jaw-dropping stuff during Early Access.” promises the marketer.
A realistic approach Gray Zone Warfare is reflected, for example, in the authentic arsenal of modern weapons and the use of real tactics. However, the former operator of the 601st Special Forces Group, Ondřej “Spicy” Spisar, also helped with the development of Madfinger. “Don’t expect it to be a crazy shooter. It is the maximum approach to reality. The real things are accentuated there, the game encourages behavior like on the battlefield.” said the veteran in an interview with CzechCrunch.
Gray Zone Warfare on Steam it was released in the so-called early access or preliminary access, i.e. in a still being developed, not final form. This too resulted in an initial wave of unflattering reviews due to the game’s technical condition. With increasing sales (and also with the rapid release of the update), the rating gradually began to tilt in a more positive direction. Two thirds of the more than 15,000 users already rate the domestic title positively.
A solid start GZW he also recorded the controversial move of a genre competitor Escape from Tarkov. Its developers announced the release of a very expensive expansion pack and turned a large part of the community against each other. Extension Tarkova by the way, it was supposed to bring to the game the shootouts of live players with enemies controlled by artificial intelligence, i.e. content already available in the Czech game.
The tactical action is a huge departure from previous work for Madfinger Games, which was invested in in 2021 by the Chinese company Nuverse, which belongs to the creators of TikTok. The studio, with a turnover in the hundreds of millions of crowns, has grown thanks to mobile games such as Dead Trigger, Unkilled or Shadowgun. Two years ago, however, Marek Rabas ordered the development of the first game for PC, subsequently Madfinger Games even sold their mobile portfolio. Opening numbers Gray Zone Warfare they indicate that it was an order well executed.
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