I Expect You To Die’s VR escape-room action grosses $3 million

Virtual reality is still a burgeoning market, but developers like Schell Games are finding success. The studio announced today that it has generated $3 million in revenue for its VR hit I Expect You To Die. The spy-themed puzzle adventure was able to reach that milestone by launching across multiple platforms. I Expect You To Die is available for $25 for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Windows Mixed Reality, and PlayStation VR.

I Expect You To Die puts players in James Bond-style scenarios where they must solve various puzzles to progress. It works as a seated or standing experience. It also focuses on physical interactions. So it plays to the strengths of early VR tech. But the escape-room espionage theme helped it stand apart from the many shooting galleries that are plentiful on VR stores.

Schell released I Expect You To Die in December 2016. Between launch and August 2017, it generated $1 million in revenue. Since then, it has jumped to the PlayStation Store and other platforms. The studio has also released downloadable content packs that add onto the experience. Over the last 13 months, the game has grossed $2 million.

“The team put a lot of heart and hard work into I Expect You To Die and the success we’ve achieved definitely shows our passion for this project,” Schell chief executive officer Jesse Schell said. “With support from fans, gamers, and techies who have played I Expect You to Die, we’ve proved that virtual reality can become a mainstream platform and its future is looking incredibly bright.”

Of course, $3 million isn’t a massive sum relative to hits in other areas of the game industry, but virtual reality has not matured. If studios are going to continue making VR games, they will have to do so with realistic budgets. But Schell has proved that’s possible. More developers just need to follow its lead.