Indie Hit Content Warning Sold 1 Million Paid Copies Despite Initial Free Giveaway

On April 1st, indie game developer and publisher Landfall launched its horror-themed co-op experience “Content Warning” on PC offering the full game for free during the first 24 hours of release.

This decision proved to be a resounding success, as it allowed over 6.6 million players to claim the game for free on its launch day.

The exceptional demand caused the online concurrent player count on Steam to peak at an astonishing 204,439, as reported by SteamDB.

After the initial free period was over, “Content Warning” then became a paid title, priced at a reasonable $7.99.

Given the massive influx of free users, one might have assumed there would be little appetite for paid purchases. However, Landfall proved us wrong.

In a recent post (April 13th) on X, Landfall announced that since the free launch day, “Content Warning” has sold 1 million copies at the $7.99 price point.

Bring out the party poopers!

Content Warning has now sold 1M copies on top of the 6.6M players that got the game for free! 🎉

Thank you all so much for liking our scary Iill game ♥️ pic.twitter.com/7zBUW40VJk

— Landfall (@LandfallGames) April 13, 2024

This success story raises the question of whether other developers, particularly smaller indie teams, might consider replicating this business model for future releases.

The ability to rapidly build a large player base and then convert a significant portion to paid customers is a compelling prospect.

While the current online concurrent player count for “Content Warning” has declined from its initial peak, it remains respectable for a small indie title.

SteamDB data shows the game currently hovering around a 33,000-daily peak player with a very positive 92% user score.

In a follow-up post on X, Landfall also announced that the studio is working on some updates, and fixes for the game’s growing player base, which now exceeds 7.6 million users.

The studio has also engaged with the community, ensuring fans that more maps, bigger lobbies, controller support, and new monsters are in the pipeline.