Jonathan Blow, the creator of the critically acclaimed puzzle-platformer Braid, has expressed his disappointment with the sales performance of the recently released Anniversary Edition.
The Anniversary Edition, released on May 14th, included a remaster of the 2008 original alongside numerous new features, including an extensive new interactive commentary track. Despite the positive reception and added features, Blow has been candid about the game's underwhelming sales figures.
In a series of clips compiled by the YouTube channel Blow Fan, Blow can be seen discussing the sales figures on his Twitch channel over a period of several weeks. Initially, he expressed uncertainty about the game's performance, stating it was "too early" to judge. However, as time went on, his tone became progressively more negative.
Thirty-four days after the release, Blow confirmed that the sales had been "horrible", even comparing them to "dog shit" compared to what the company needs to survive.
He went on to say that the future of the company is uncertain, and that the game's sales performance has been "bad" and "not good".
Blow's concerns were further highlighted 68 days after release, where he once again described the sales as "terrible" and "utterly terrible".
The stark reality of the situation was further emphasised in a clip recorded 74 days after the release, where Blow revealed that the company could not afford to pay any full-time staff on his new programming language, Jai, due to the poor sales of the Anniversary Edition.
Despite the financial disappointment, the Braid: Anniversary Edition has received positive critical acclaim. The PS5 and Xbox Series X versions have achieved Metacritic scores of 86 and 92 respectively.
This situation raises questions about the potential future of the game and the impact of poor sales on the developer's future projects. It also highlights the often-uncertain nature of the gaming industry, even for critically acclaimed titles.
