Hades 2 is one of the few titles that has the luxury of an unanticipated release. This title from Supergiant Games received an early access launch on May 6, and the fans were really excited about it. Regrettably, some members of the industry, particularly those involved with other independent titles, expressed dissatisfaction with the sudden release of this highly anticipated IP.
Richie de Wit, a well-known figure in the indie community, immediately voiced his dissatisfaction, highlighting the challenges this sudden release can pose for other titles scheduled for a specific date.
Not Everyone Is Excited About the Launch of Hades 2
Supergiant Games, a popular indie studio, decided to release Hades 2 out of nowhere for all Steam users. The game is still in the early access stage, but many fans have already played it. SteamDB has shown that the game peaked with almost 80,000 players in just 24 hours, a really solid number for just one gaming platform. The community in general is very happy, including fans of the first title, but some indie developers are not that excited about this release.
A very popular indie personality, Richie de Wit, has posted on X that this kind of shadow drop is not a particularly fair move for other developers and smaller studios that have smaller budgets to work with.
Richie de Wit made it clear where he stands on this practice, which has been adopted by some games in recent years, particularly by more popular IPs who are aware that it will drive traffic and generate positive publicity.
The Indie Gaming Industry Is Very Competitive
Other developers who joined de Wit expressed dissatisfaction, claiming that the release of Hades 2 has completely overshadowed their games scheduled for this date. These studios have very small marketing budgets, so there is no possibility of doing anything wrong. Others understood that Supergiant Games was merely seeking publicity, yet this action will significantly impact other studios.
The discussion on X continued, and other users said that the game was doing several technical tests a few weeks ago, so it was kind of obvious that this title would drop soon. Supergiant Games didn’t announce any roadmap or official release date; that is the main complaint other indie developers have. These developers also said that if they announced the release date, it would literally make no difference for the studio regarding sales.
Hades 2 is a roguelike action RPG. You are the princess of the Underworld who is trying to leave that place by fighting every enemy in your way. The Olympus is going after you with all the minions that it can send to keep you from escaping the Underworld. The first game of this franchise was released in 2020, becoming one of the greatest indies of the last few years, praised by critics and players.
What are your thoughts about this move? Let us know in the comments!
