The board of directors for publisher Starbreeze Studios is ordering management to cut operating costs after slow revenues for Overkill’s The Walking Dead, according to a post on the company’s site.
Overkill’s The Walking Dead came out on November 6 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The cooperative shooter has players fighting together to survive zombie-infested levels, but Starbreeze notes that revenues for the game are lower than forecasted. The studio blames this in part due to a higher share of sales than it expected in low-price countries like Russia and China.
“This is disappointing, of course, but we have a base to work with in regards to the number of games sold,” said Starbreeze chairman Michael Hjorth on the company’s site post. “We have a pulse of concurrent players, which is essential to future performance within the framework of our games-as-a-service concept. The team is working at full capacity to deliver improvements to the game and new content, and Season 2 will be starting soon.”
What now?
Starbreeze has now initiated a program designed to cut costs and focus on the company’s core business: internal and external game development.
“We have initiated a review of our costs to ensure better alignment with our revenues,” said Starbreeze chief financial officer Sebastian Ahlskog in the post. “We are designing a program towards that end, naturally while keeping a careful eye on revenue development. We must focus on our core business and ensure delivery of the company’s important games.”
Overkill is a developer owned by Starbreeze. The company made its name on the successful Payday series, which are also cooperative first-person shooters (although those games focus on robbing banks instead of fighting zombies).