Steam's New Hit Game Frostpunk Is Off To A Fast Start

Frostpunk is a striking game, with a beautiful and haunting aesthetic and a novel premise. The post-apocalyptic city-builder has consequently launched to critical acclaim and, as it turns out, pretty great sales numbers. In less than three full days, Frostpunk has already crossed the 250,000 copies sold milestone.

In an email, developer 11-bit Studios revealed that after only 66 hours, a quarter of a million people purchased the game. These are good first-week numbers for most games, and they are fantastic for a medium-sized independent studio like 11-bit. The developer has already covered development and marketing costs for the game as a result of this early success.

In addition, the studio confirmed that full expansions to Frostpunk are now definitely happening. These will arrive alongside more frequent, free updates to the game. First, though, 11-bit will focus on improving the base game to iron out certain problems. "We plan to polish some rough edges of the original game--you're reporting some issues with difficulty balance, with minor bugs and such," it wrote on Steam. "We want to fix that! We also plan to add more modes and scenarios to the game."

Frostpunk received a 9/10 from GameSpot, with critic Daniel Starkey praising its look as well as the tough decisions it forces you to make. "Frostpunk is among the best overall takes on the survival city builder to date. Its theming and consistency create a powerful narrative through line that binds your actions around the struggle to hold onto humanity in uncertain times. Hope is a qualified good, but you may not always be strong enough (or clever enough) to shelter that flame from the cold."