Alone in the Dark Reboot Flopped, Embracer Says After Laying Off Staff [IGN]

The Alone in the Dark reboot failed to meet sales expectations at the embattled Embracer Group, it has said.

In a financial report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, Embracer said Alone in the Dark and Outcast: A New Beginning both endured “a softer-than-expected performance” and “performed below management expectations.” That’s corporate speak for failed to sell the required number of units to make money.

Alone in the Dark launched in March as a reimagination of the famous franchise and “a love letter to the 90’s cult classic horror game.” It featured performances from high-profile Hollywood actors Jodie Comer (Killing Eve, Free Guy) and David Harbour (Stranger Things, Black Widow) in their first video game roles, complete with captured likenesses.

But despite this, Alone in the Dark failed to capture the attention of the wider gaming public. According to SteamDB, it peaked with 1,628 concurrent players on Valve’s platform upon launch, but that figure has tumbled since. At the time of this article’s publication, just 23 accounts were playing Alone in the Dark, with a 24-hour peak of 52.

IGN’s Alone in the Dark review returned a 6/10. We said: “It’s not without its memorable moments, but Alone in the Dark fails to escape the shadows of the other contemporary survival horror titans that it helped spawn.”

Embracer’s comments about the commercial performance of Alone in the Dark come a month after its developer, the Embracer-owned Pieces Interactive, reportedly suffered a round of layoffs. Embracer has yet to comment on those layoffs.

Embracer has laid off thousands of staff since the collapse of a $2 billion deal, reportedly with Saudi government funded company Savvy Games Group, in 2023. In January it emerged that Embracer had canceled a new Deus Ex game that was two years in development and laid off some staff at Eidos Montreal. Some of the Embracer-owned studios to shut down include Saints Row developer Volition and Timesplitters developer Free Radical Design.

Last month, after selling off multiple businesses including Borderlands maker Gearbox and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic remake maker Saber Interactive, Embracer announced its intent to split into three separate companies: Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends. The largest shareholder, controversial CEO Lars Wingefors, intends to form a new long-term ownership structure, and “will remain a long-term, active, committed and supportive owner of all three entities,” Embracer said.

While Alone in the Dark and Outcast: A New Beginning both failed to set tills alight, Embracer said Tomb Raider I-III Remastered “was positively received and performed above management expectations”, and Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection “saw negative reviews from users, but performed in line with management expectations.” South Park: Snow Day! saw “a mixed reception from critics and users but delivered within expectations.” Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, “launched to great reception and outperformed management expectations.” Lightyear Frontier, meanwhile, “saw a positive reception and performed well-in-line with management expectations.”

Dead Island 2, developed by UK studio Dambuster Studios, is a hit, selling over three million units and reaching over seven million players since launch, a figure boosted by the game’s release on Xbox Game Pass.

As for what’s coming up from Embracer, it has high hopes for open-world medieval RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which is due out later in 2024. It said it expects the game will hit Dead Island 2 sales numbers. There’s also Killing Floor 3, Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, Hyperlight Breaker, Gothic Remake, Titan Quest 2 alongside at least three other “important, unannounced releases,” Embracer said. In total, more than 70 game projects are currently expected to be released during the financial year ending March 31, 2025.

Embracer also owns Middle-earth Enterprises, and has licensed the Lord of the Rings IP to Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema for two new films.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.