Space Marine 2 publisher says no one expected the game to sell 7 million copies, but it proves the “execution was right”

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 quickly became the best-selling game in the franchise’s history, but publisher Pullup Entertainment (aka Focus Home) didn’t believe it could actually reach those highs. 

Echoing previous sentiments that the game was guaranteed to sell, CEO Geoffroy Sardin explained that the sheer heights the third-person action game has managed to hit are a total shock to everyone involved. 

Space Marine 2 sales are mind-blowing 

Speaking to The Game Business, Sardin revealed that the incredible success of the AA action game was completely out of the realm of possibility during development. 

“We didn’t believe that we could hit 7 million unique players,” the CEO said. “It was incredible for us.”

In the months since its release, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has caused physical sales of 40K miniatures to spike which has resulted in owner Games Workshop seeing its best profit ever. Additionally, the hype for the action game has caused other 40K games, such as Darktide and Rogue Trader, to have boosted sales. 

In the interview, Sardin explained that the level of success the game has seen is due to the right “execution” with a AA budget providing a highly targeted experience for a select group of players. If it’s good enough, that game not only services that group, but also branches out. 

“With double-A or indie games, there is more agility, more resilience [than AAA],” Sardin said. “We can control the budget. There is high creativity to differentiate ourselves. It’s a faster time to market, between one and two years. This is a shift we’ve seen in the numbers. The double-A and indie markets are thriving right now.”

“We do not design and publish games for everyone,” he continued. “We design and produce games for someone. And when the execution is right, it ends up resonating with many more people.”

Sardin explained that the games industry’s focus on AAA development can make it seem like the industry is imploding. However, in his eyes, the AA market is just clawing back in the wake of ballooning budgets and corporate acquisitions. 

“The industry has not grown over the past few years, but it has stabilized at a very high level after years of impressive growth,” the publisher CEO said. “The industry remains powerful, and it is used to having phases of stabilization before returning to growth.”

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is continuing to sell more copies as the months go by. With developer Saber Interactive promising an additional year of content alongside a major anniversary update, the game is still filled to the brim with stuff for players to play. 

Additionally, Saber is in very early development of Space Marine 3, a “bigger and better” story that will continue Titus’ crusade against the forces of Chaos.