$27 Million In Just 2 Weeks: How Three People Turned "Battlefield Meets Roblox" Into The Hit Shooter Of 2023

Battlebit Remastered, an indie game made by only three devs, has sold over 1.8 million units in just two weeks. A lot of the biggest publishers must be looking on with envy, but will they learn the right lessons from Battlebit?

Battlebit Remastered sales
Battlebit is a groundbreaking achievement. | © SgtOkiDoki

You might be tempted to dismiss Battlebit as yet another Battlefield knockoff made in Roblox. There are indeed a lot of these games knocking around, and a lot of them are crap. But unlike the Roblox knockoffs, Battlebit is far more complex and well-designed than its blocky art-style would suggest.

We aren't going to pretend that Battlebit is winning Game of the Year, but if you're a battlefield fan who needs something to fill the void left by 2042, this will do the job. It features a surprising array of vehicles and weapons, and some of the newly invented modes are genuinely refreshing. Which explains why sales have been so phenomenal.

Battlebit Makes Staggering Profit In 2 Weeks

As first reported by howtomarketagame.com, Battlebit sold over 1.8 million units in just two weeks, and that was at the $15 price, and not as part of the Steam Summer Sale. That is just insane when you consider this game had effectively no marketing budget and looks like this:

But this is exactly what makes the case of Battlebit so interesting. The fact that it can look like this and yet be so popular is testament to how much more important fundamental gameplay design is to many gamers, it's certainly at least more important than having the best performance or most impressive graphics. Of course, that's an oversimplification of the situation, but the success of Battlebit at least shows there's a market for this kind of game in 2023.

Sadly, many of the bigwigs are likely to draw only one conclusion from Battlebit: "the kids want Roblox Battlefield".

Thank god you don't have to listen to this nonsense in Battlebit:

Jon Ramuz

Jon has a BA and an MA in English Literature, and as Head of Pull Content for EarlyGame has written over 1,500 articles. He focuses on shooters, but also writes about entertainment and gaming in general....