Outriders studio has ‘yet to receive any royalties’ as the game hasn’t broken even

Outriders studio People Can Fly has told investors there’s no guarantee it will ever receive any royalties for the game.

In a recent financial report spotted by TweakTown, the Polish studio said it hadn’t received any royalties from publisher Square Enix based on the game’s commercial performance last year.

The sci-fi loot shooter was released on April 1, 2021 following five years in development at People Can Fly.

Square Enix said it enjoyed significant engagement numbers at launch, attracting some 3.5 million unique players in its first month, partly thanks to a deal which saw the title release day one on Xbox Game Pass.

This led Square Enix, which owns the IP, to suggest the game was “on track to become the company’s next major franchise”, but sales seemingly failed to meet expectations during the remainder of the year.

People Can Fly said in its latest financial report: “The Group received no royalties from the publisher for the period to December 31st 2021, which means that as at the reporting date net proceeds from the sale of Outriders were insufficient to recover the costs and expenses incurred by the publisher to develop, distribute and promote the title.

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“This was confirmed by the royalty statement for the fourth quarter of 2021, received by the Group from the publisher.

“There can be no assurance that net proceeds from the sale of Outriders in future periods will be sufficient for the publisher to recover the costs incurred and to pay royalties to the Group.”

Square Enix and People Can Fly recently announced plans to release a major expansion for the game, Outriders Worldslayer, on June 30.