Shovel Knight studio Yacht Club Games is ‘make or break’ and relying on its next game’s success
If Mina the Hollower doesn’t do well, the studio will “need more money” to survive, its co-founder says
Yacht Club Games is relying on the success of its next game to secure its future, its co-founder says.
The studio – best known for Shovel Knight and its numerous expansions and spin-offs – was set to release its long-awaited Mina the Hollower on October 31, before delaying it to an as-yet unannounced future date.
Now, in an interview with Bloomberg, co-founder and studio director Sean Velasco says the game’s sales will play a big role in determining the future of the company (including whether there is one).
“It’s make-or-break for sure,” Velasco said. “If we sold 500,000 copies, then we would be golden. If we sold even 200,000, that would be really, really great. If we sold, like, 100,000, that’s not so good.”
Given that Shovel Knight has sold more than 3 million copies since its release in 2014, some may believe that the studio’s target for Mina the Hollower should be manageable.
However, as marketing director Celia Schilling pointed out to the publication, “your company is only as strong as your last game”.
The implication, then, is that if Mina the Hollower doesn’t hit the figures Shovel Knight is hoping to reach, it may potentially spell curtains for a studio which – according to the article – has already “churned through most of its capital”, downsized and put a second project – a 3D Shovel Knight sequel – on hold.
Velasco told the publication that should the worst happen and Mina the Hollower not see strong sales, he still believes the studio can survive, saying: “If Mina flops, we’ll still be around.” He then, however, reportedly quickly followed this by conceding that “we would need more money”.
Mina the Hollower was originally announced in early 2022, with a Kickstarter campaign raising $1.2 million and an estimated December 2023 release. As the project continued to grow in scale, however, it was heavily delayed, leading to the current situation two years later where the game currently still doesn’t have a firm release date.
