French video games publisher FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE (FR0012419307 ALFOC) has reported its first-quarter revenues for FY 2018/2019 (April-June). Over the first three months of its fiscal year, FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE generated €28.5m in revenue, driven notably by robust sales of the game Vampyr.
Successful launch of Vampyr, the strongest launch-title after Farming Simulator
Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2018-2019 (April-June 2018) increased 23% relative to the year-earlier period (April-June 2017). After an outstanding performance in the comparable quarter of 2017, when the successful launch of The Surge lifted sales 24% to €23.2m, the success of Vampyr marks a new milestone for FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE.
Indeed, after just one week on the market, Vampyr was the best-selling game in France, the UK, Germany and many other countries. This success provides again evidence of the company’s drive to deliver original game concepts set in high-potential universes, both in its capacity as games publisher and as a partner to creative studios.
The back catalogue, which includes MudRunner and the Platinum edition of FS17, accounted for 29% of total sales, compared with 36% of sales a year earlier. The group now derives 90% of total sales from international markets.
2018/19: a promising line-up
The second quarter of fiscal 2018-2019(July-September) will see the release of two games that have been eagerly anticipated in the press and by gamers.
One is Fear The Wolves, which was developed by Vostok Games, a team partly comprised of the creators of the famous S.T.A.L.K.E.R game. The concept combines classic Battle Royale gameplay with original game modes (Player vs. Environment, radiation hazards, dynamic weather, and an end-of-game extraction system) and is set in a post-apocalyptic Chernobyl environment. Steam’s “Early Access” to Fear The Wolves will be available during the summer, with the full game slated for release for consoles and PC in 2019.
The release of Insurgency: Sandstorm, from US studio New World Interactive, has also been much anticipated in the press. With an active community of over 5 million PC gamers, the release will be a major event in the PC universe. The successful recipe used for the first edition, Insurgency, has been improved, with Unreal Engine 4 enhanced graphics and realistic and immersive gameplay that will appeal to even the most demanding of gamers. The PC version will be available this summer and the console version will be rolled out in 2019, thus fully exploiting the game’s sales potential.
In the second half of the year, an extension for MudRunner, dubbed “American Wilds”, will set a new challenge for the game’s ever-expanding player base, with the presence of major brands’ official vehicles in an American setting. Finally, Farming Simulator 19 will provide fans and simulation game enthusiasts worldwide with the most advanced, comprehensive and rich “farming” experience ever created by the Giants Software team.
