In its latest investor presentation, Devolver Digital has confirmed Cult of the Lamb is its best-selling IP of all time, with a lifetime revenue of just under USD $90 million. This is followed swiftly by Astroneer (under USD $80 million), then by Stronghold, Serious Sam, Gungeon, Shadow Warrior, Hotline Miami, The Talos Principle, Reigns, and Gorn.
What’s most surprising about the performance of Cult of the Lamb is that only one title has been released, but it’s seemingly outperforming whole franchises, with Stronghold and Serious Sam both comprising 9+ titles. While the game’s performance is slightly offset by it being a third party title developed by non-Devolver studio Massive Monster, it appears it’s been wildly success for the company, regardless.
Leaning into noted trends – that “gamers are spending more time on known IPs as opposed to new IPs” – Devolver has outlined a new push to lean further into its most popular franchises in future, expanding them with DLC, sequels, and other tie-ins. For Cult of the Lamb, we’ve already seen the results of this push, in the form of DLC releases, and crossovers with other properties.
As previously confirmed, Devolver Digital is also currently working on a range of sequels for the IPs listed in its top ten breakdown, with Astroneer getting a sequel imminently (Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions), and both Enter the Gungeon and GORN getting the same treatment.
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For those who’ve played and loved older Devolver Digital releases, the news will likely be appreciated. But there is an unfortunate side effect, in that a focus on established IP may lead to lessened investment in new, standalone original IP. This push would be inspired by precedent, with some recent titles underperforming.
As noted in Devolver’s investor report, back catalogue sales rose 20% year-on-year in FY2024, but “some 2H 2023 and 2024 game releases struggled with discoverability, despite high Metacritic scores and positive gamer reviews.”
Per Devolver, it’s now focussed on third party investments only when there’s “smaller development budgets with high success potential and scope for future DLC.” As part of a focus on reduced budget, Devolver has also made a number of cuts to its internal studios recently.
Devolver Digital is “refocusing” internal teams
One slide in its investor presentation has confirmed Devolver Digital has implemented a range of layoffs within its owned studios over the last financial year. Nerial (Reigns, The Crush House) has “undergone a team restructure to address issues around recent releases and to better shape the team for future releases.” This has resulted in a 40% reduction in staff.
Artificer was impacted by layoffs in early 2024, downsizing by half. A new project that’s now been greenlit at the studio will chase “current market conditions and gamer trends.” Good Shepherd and Big Fan has also reduced its headcount by 50% over the last year.
Overall, Devolver Digital has reduced staff numbers from 303 in 2023 to 270, with around 33 people losing their jobs in the last financial year, across this range of studios.
What’s next for Devolver Digital?
Given recent moves and performance, Devolver does expect continued success in the year ahead. The launch of Big Fan Games, a new publisher for adapted entertainment, is seen as a major opportunity for expansion. The launch of the
The final slide in the company’s investor presentation notes a “busy 2025 schedule” with at least 13 games on the way, and high expected performance. Notably, many of the biggest games Devolver has been working on over the last few years are finally set to arrive in its next financial year, so there’s strong reasons for a positive outlook.
We’re likely to hear much more about the latest games from Devolver in the months ahead, so stay tuned.
