Shares of video game maker 11 bit studios slump after 'Frostpunk 2' release (updated)

11 Bit Studios SA

23/09/2024 09:52

(Adds detail)
       GDANSK, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Shares in Polish video game maker 11 bit
studios  11B.WA  slumped 38% on Monday to the bottom of Poland's mid-cap index
 .mWIG40  after the number of players of the company's flagship "Frostpunk 2"
game failed to meet market expectations shortly after its release. 
    Frostpunk 2, the sequel to BAFTA-nominated society survival city-builder
"Frostpunk", was released on Friday evening.
    The highest number of concurrent players of the game on the Steam platform
reached 35,533 on Saturday.
    "We expected a significantly higher players peak in the 80,000-100,000
range, so we consider 35.5k as a negative surprise," said Erste Group analyst
Piotr Bogusz, pointing to an eight times stronger "wishlist" - players who had
expressed an interest in the game's release - for Frostpunk 2 than the original
at launch. 
    "Relatively poor ratings may also affect the purchasing decisions of players
who have Frostpunk 2 on their wishlist," he added. 
    Bogusz said the share of positive ratings of the game fell to 67% on Sunday
from 83% on Friday. 
    "A drop in the average rating below the 80% threshold affects the game's
visibility on Steam, which could translate into sales," he said.
    On Monday, the game had a 'mostly positive' rating on Steam with 71% of the
4,986 user reviews positive and praising, among other aspects, the graphics and
strategic depth of the sequel. 
    Negative comments mentioned poor optimisation and less immersion in the game
compared to the previous release. 
    
        

 (Reporting by Adrianna Ebert; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
 ((Adrianna.Ebert@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 65 88;))