Embracer: ‘Alone in the Dark’ Reboot Failed to Meet Sales Expectations

It appears that this year’s resurrection of the Alone in the Dark series will have a difficult time getting a follow-up. According to the latest earnings report from Embracer Group, the reimagining of the 1992 Survival Horror cult classic has sold less than expected.

According to the report, Alone in the Dark saw a positive reception from fans with its launch in March, but in contrast received a “mixed reception” from critics and “ultimately performed below management expectations.” Sales figures for the game were not revealed, but to put some perspective on the game’s performance, according to SteamDB, the currently player count is less than 70 at the moment, compared to a concurrent player count peak of 1,628 when it launched.

This report comes a month after news that Embracer Group had laid off several staff at Alone in the Dark developer Pieces Interactive not long after the game’s release. Embracer Group hadn’t commented on the layoffs then, but the latest earnings report does provide some reasoning.

Embracer has been in a bit of a restructuring mode as of late. The company recently sold off Borderlands developer Gearbox Interactive and Evil Dead: The Game developer Saber Interactive, as well as cancelling a new Deus Ex game at Eidos Montreal.

Despite being rough around the edges, Harrison enjoyed Alone in the Dark. In his review, Harrison pointed out the game’s strengths in the writing, the characters and the world-building far outweighed the issues that he came across during his time with the game.

Alone in the Dark is available on PC via Steam, Xbox Series, and PlayStation 5.