While it’s typical for the latest games in popular series to pull in the biggest sales number in any given year, 2020 has seen an impressive number of indie games likeFall Guys,Among Us, andPhasmophobiabecome financial hitsas well. Such is the case for the farming sim/action-RPGSakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, which is performing so well that publisher Marvelous Entertainment has effectively been struggling to keep up.
For the uninitiated,Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruinis the latest title from Astebreed developer Edelweiss and was released last Tuesday by Marvelous subsidiary XSEED Games. Inspired by Japanese mythology, the game casts players in the role of Sakuna, a spoiled harvest goddess who is banished to a demon-infested island. There, players are tasked with managing a rice farm while fighting demons and gathering resources in side-scrolling combat sections.
RELATED:Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin Release Date Announced
This mix of different genres has been met with loads of acclaim, withreviews forSakunapraising the depth of its systems and how it balances its farming and combat gameplay. But the biggest indicator of success right now is the sales numbers it’s generating in Japan, and the effect that has had on Marvelous’ stock. In a rather surprising turn, the publisher had to temporarily halt the price of shares because the unexpected surge caused bySakunawas making prices rise too quickly in too short a time.
It’s not all too rare for a single game to have a huge effect on a company’s stock. Just look at howCD Projekt RED’s stocks dropped 25% afterCyberpunk 2077’s most recent delay. But for one game to force a publisher to freeze its stock prices because it’s basically too successful just goes to show how much demand there is for solid farming sims.
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruinis available for PC, PS4, and Switch.
