Latest Steam hit horror game The Exit 8 sells over 30,000 copies within a day of release

Japanese indie developer Kotake Create released The Exit 8 via Steam on November 29. The eerie liminal space-inspired game sold a whopping 30,000 copies within a day of its launch, which apparently came as a complete surprise to its developer.  

The Exit 8 is a short walking simulator horror in which you are trapped in the seemingly endless backrooms of a Japanese subway station. The signs keep saying you’re near exit number 8, but you can’t seem to reach it as you walk through what feels like an infinite loop of corridors. You have to find a way out by looking out for anomalies. 

The rules are simple – do not overlook any anomalies. If you spot an anomaly, turn back. If there are no anomalies, do not turn back. The Exit 8 is like a combination of a spot the difference game and an escape game. What kind of anomalies appear? What do they cause? Who’s that middle-aged dude walking by? The game is thrillingly uncomfortable. 

The Exit 8 recorded a peak of 2431 concurrent players on Steam almost as soon as it released (SteamDB), and at the time of writing, the game has a Very Positive status with over 500 user reviews. But what about sales? We asked @notokeke, the developer behind Kotake Create, about the game’s performance and learned that it has already sold over thirty thousand copies, which is an outstanding figure for a debut indie title. 

@notokeke admits to being surprised by the game’s outstanding performance so far. They had been expecting to receive  nothing but negative feedback, so it was a relief to see all the positive reactions from players. The developer added that they were very grateful to everyone who decided to pick up the game. Although 80% of sales are domestic, the game has been well-received among English and Chinese-speaking users as well. 

Bearing in mind that @notokeke created The Exit 8 by themselves, with only three months of actual development (six months of conceptualization), the project can be considered a great success. The Exit 8 has a straightforward and impactful theme, paired with realistic graphics crafted in Unreal Engine 5. Furthermore, it’s the kind of game people want to pick up for themselves as soon as they see someone else playing it. Thanks to these strengths, The Exit 8 will likely continue to gain popularity. 

The Exit 8 is available for the PC (Steam). It will be at a 10% discount until December 7. 

Written by. Amber V based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2023-12-01 15:22 JST)