Kingdom Come Deliverance II Wins Big

So, the developers of the recently released action/RPG "Kingdom Come
Deliverance II" must be smiling; the game sold 1 million copies within
its first week. Pretty good for a game made by a tiny Czech studio
that has all of two games to its name.

Whether you like KCD2 or not, this is good news, because what this
industry needs is more successful mid-tier development studios /
publishers that stand in-between the tiny Indies (makers of
interesting but too often niche and unpolished games) and the
corpulent triple-A studios that just shit out the same MTX-encumbered
games year after year.

These mid-tier studios had become increasingly rare over the last
decade --either because they went out of business, or because the
triple-As bought them up-- and it's good to see them making a
comeback. They're the competition the triple-As need, whilst not being
as locked-into the need to keep cranking out the same old chum. Their
resurgence is a win-win for gamers.

But as important, KDC2's success proves that not only are
single-player, non-'live service' games still popular, they're also
financially viable. You /don't/ need to make a $500 million game to be
successful. KDC2's development budget was ~$40 million, and it looks
as good as anything Ubisoft or Electronic Arts shits out. Is it a bit
smaller? Is the gameplay perhaps not as refined? Maybe. But I'd rather
a dozen 'slightly imperfect' games released per year to one of EA's
mammoth annual blockbusters.

    [Meanwhile, EA is suggesting that "Dragon Age: Veilguard" might
     have been more successful had it been released as a live-service
     game. Because the lack of 'shared world features' in DA:V was
     what held it back, right?]

Personally, I'm  still on the fence with KDC2. It's not that I don't
want to play the game; I just don't feel that I'll be getting $70
worth of enjoyment from the game. Reviews indicate it's 'more of the
same' when it comes to the gameplay; fun albeit slightly clunky
mechanics and controls, and the usual slew of day-one bugs. I'll get
the game, I'll eventually play it and I'll probably like-not-love it,
but I'm in no rush to pay day-one prices for the experience.
Nonetheless, I'm thrilled at the game's success. I hope we start
seeing many more similar stories.