GearNuke: "Sunset Overdrive is an exclusive game from Insomniac Games, the creators of Ratchet and Clank and Resistance series on PlayStation platform. It was quite a surprise to see them going exclusive to Xbox One for their next big game since they have mostly made games exclusively for the PlayStation, and were considered an important part of the PlayStation 2 and 3 software lineup. James Stevenson, Community Lead at Insomniac Games, explains how they ended up becoming creating an exclusive for Microsoft."
Does it still hold up in 2024?
We've still got a few months to go, but October marks the 10-year anniversary of this Insomniac Games title, with the developer having since moved on to work on the Marvel's Spider-Man games for PlayStation. It was assumed that Sunset Overdrive might make its way to other platforms eventually, but that hasn't happened as of yet.
So beloved that it sold so well that there's a sequel and Insomniac never had the opportunity to go back to Sony to develop games exclusively for Sony.
ngl, I was low-key expecting Sunset Overdrive to migrate to PS as well along with Hi-Fi Rush and SoT
I think that would require Insomniac going back to work on it to port it over, probably why that's not happening.
I think only in so far as they support every piece of software heading their way? They have that team who specializes in helping people port games, not just SoT, and then the one team that takes PS5 games and ports them to PC (that's their full time job essentially). But that team, the former mentioned one, doesn't do all the work, just help out with how to best do things. So, that team wouldn't port a whole game like Sunset Overdrive.
Ok I thought you meant Insomniac reluctant/Sony not permitting them to go back and work on Overdrive. Hence I added the participation from Sony's side.
But yea, In actuality its Insomniac not having spare dev time to get involved in the port work, atm.
*** But yea, In actuality its Insomniac not having spare dev time to get involved in the port work, atm. ***
Definitely this. They're working on two major IPs as it is and Sony forced them to layoff some people at the end of last year as well. So, likely not capable of sparing the time because resources are being fully utilized.
There was an article awhile back talking about the situation with SSoD. Insomniac does own the IP and Sony now owns it after they bought Insomniac but the publishing right for SSoD is owned by MS - at least the 1st game still is. MS has to sell the publishing rights like they did with the first Mass Effect game to EA after EA bought Bioware before Sony can do anything with the IP.
Nobody cares about Sunset Overdrive, except all the xbox fanboys who didn't buy it but like to come into articles about the game and try to act like it's somehow Sony's fault for whatever reason.
there was supposed to be a sequel. IG had it all planned but MS said no. And Sony wont greenlight a sequel if they cant get the first one away from MS. Plus... IG has other projects they moved on to anyways so...... yeah.
Well, with the recent change in policy towards exclusivity, I imagine Sony could get MS to port it over.
I mean, it's also not a highly rated game, not even in Insomniac's top ten or even top ten on Xbox that year. With this logic, any game can be beloved and so throwing around the word beloved means absolutely nothing. Doesn't have to sell or have great critical reception, just a handful of people need to love it.
You guys are so starved for games you reminiscing about a decade old game made by a now Sony studio. Of course it never sold 10 million, the vast majority of people bought a PS4.
A game not played by many can still be beloved by those who played it, yeah.
Only making a profit of $567 after 10 years shows that it was not as beloved as it should have been though. That's really bad.
As much as people complain about AAA games not being unique or having fun ideas or bringing in new IP, a lot of gamers don't show up for them. Even less people seem to have played Hi-Fi Rush.
It was okay when I played it on PC, idk if I'd consider it one of the more beloved games of that generation.
I mean, it sounds like you're just hating on the game - but, I loved it. It was one of my favorite games of it's time and that generation. Replayability could have been better, but I still managed to play it several times. I would have greatly appreciated a sequel and definitely would have been in line to pick it up..
Things happen.
***I mean, it sounds like you're just hating on the game***
No, that's all the people who refused to accept that this game was beloved and never even bought it. I, on the other hand, bought, played it, thought it was 'okay' and moved on.
Now, what hate did you see in my post other than listing the fact that it's not as beloved as the few who liked it? This and Days Gone get way more love in online discussions than they do in sales and support, I find. Both are okay games, not much more. But for some **unknown** reason, people prop them up often as more than they are.
It's in noabs land unfortunately as Microsoft own the publishing rights to sunset overdrives original game while insomniac own the IP.
So Microsoft would have to be onboard with publishing this game on PlayStation systems with the understanding the would not profit from any subsequent games in the franchise unlike the games they are currently releasing on ps5 to get players into their franchises this would be a small cash injection build a fanbase around a game they no longer own then nothing.
I really don’t get the love for Sunset Overdrive. It’s one of the few games I bought, played a few hours, gave up, and never returned.
Not beloved enough for Xbox owners to buy it apparently, Xbox was the worst possible audience for that game.
Sony couldn´t give a f* about Insomniac´s freedom of creativity, that´s why you don´t have a port for that game and will not be getting a sequel either!
That franchise wil probably never make a comback thanks to Sony´s greed for money, which have turned Insomniacs into a Marvel´s slave factory until 2030.
It´s sad, but it is what it is.
I didn't know that Ratchet and Clank were part of the Avengers of Marvel? Hidden in the ending credits of Guardians of the Galaxy or something? Captain Marvel?
Beyond the "cry me a river" of your comment that these Marvel games aren't on Xbox, it was Insomniac that was approached by Sony to work with Marvel to make a game. And let them decide what character they wanted to develop. They chose Spider-Man. Must be highly profitable for them. Wolverine is a profitable, recognizable character. And the X-Men definitely are a hot property that gamers would love as a story based videogame. Being that X-Men 97 brings back a popular Saturday morning cartoon and the introduction of the X-Men into the MCU movies coming up.
It was Microsoft's continued incompetence in cancelling the Marvel MMO game and turning down Marvel in making a super hero game as they were asked first.
Keep the tears flowing. It's not greed. It was smart business to say yes. And maybe Insomniac wants to make these games. And not a game that didn't sell well to an audience that doesn't buy games.
Neither does Microsoft either, based on your own argument here. Microsoft denied the sequel, not Insomniac/Sony. There's also no sign that Microsoft is allowing a port. They control the next two games in the IP and any DLC or the like for the first. But, nothing.
What's sad is people trying to use this game to blame businesses for doing business things that they are both doing as some way to make them look worse. Microsoft wants to use Insomniac to make a good IP that sells their platform and Sony wants to use Insomniac to make a good IP that sells their platform. But, no, Sony bad!
Don't know why the truth that these companies are very much alike is so hard for people to accept.
Your comment literally contradicts itself but troll statements typically do. If Sony is so greedy for money as you proclaim than wouldn't it behoove them to not only release the first game on their console but a sequel as well, as that would be a way for them to make profit and that's apparently their focus according to you? Speaking of profit and greed, I suppose Microsoft bought all those Developers and Publishers in hopes that they wouldn't make any money from it, right? Your ability to troll on this site with impunity is whats sad, but it is what it is.
Insomniac: “We went with Microsoft because we want to own the IP so it’s ours”
Microsoft: *owns publishing rights preventing the studio to re-release the original game, make a remaster, remake, any DLC, massive expansions and multiple sequels on other platforms*
The logic is just…I never got it
Owning the IP was Insomniacs main defence when they announced they were making a game exclusively for MS and yet they’ve ended up “owning” an IP they can’t do anything with.
If they went with Sony like normal you might have seen a sequel by now.
The winner of the Logic Cake has to be Bungie, though.
Wanted to be free from Halo and MS, so they buy themselves out, only to partner up with Activision, in the same timeframe as Activision ousting the heads of Infinity Ward, for a full decade with Destiny.
... And then things start falling apart in that relationship almost immediately, whodathought!
Hey, when Sony offers to overpay you for your services and signs a contract that says they won't force you to do anything you don't want, who would say no? Such an overpriced purchase from Sony. Poor business, IMHO. But, honestly, I'm not a business person. But, still, I don't understand it.
...and it seems this conundrum is also why the game cannot receive any sort of FPS boost patch for Series consoles. IG wont make it, and Ms can't get another team to do it without consent from IG. I liked it on XBO, but now I also have this on PC and I can tell ya... it definitely benefits from a 60fps frame rate.
been playing it at 1080p144fps on my modest pc. not the hardest game to max out and yeah this game definitely needs to be played at high fps considering all the actions
Sadly this may never get the proper fps update it deserves on XB (or even PS) but I now play it on steam and it definitely feels better at 60fps than it did at 30. Its a fast paced game... you need that 60fps in this one.
For those who don't have time for massive open worlds or role-playing games with epic tales, these 15 games are worth checking out.
Gamingbolt writes: "Insomniac Games has enjoyed commercial success on a level it had never seen before with its Marvel’s Spider-Man games, but not all of its titles in the last decade or so have seen eye-watering sales. In fact, specifically where Sunset Overdrive is concerned, the money the studio has made off it is quite negligible, to say the least."
Not gonna lie... looking at the IG roadmap I was fully hoping to see SSOD2 and Resistance reboot on there. The first SSOD was fun. It definitely needed the benefits of a 60fps mode and I was expecting there to be some sort of patch or FPS boost support when played on SX. Sadly... that ship sailed, but Sony gave me hope they would do the game justice. It really is a fun game that deserves to be played.
And yet they were happy to join PlayStation and since then they have made that back many, many times over. And clearly, it wasn't enough to keep them from releasing another Rachet per leaks.
Wanna talk about the profitability of Forza or Redfall?
8m is a number that will easily be made back when iR&C has been on the market as long as SO has, R&C will make more profit that SO ever will.
It's probably why Insomniac is going the Marvel route for a while and then later bring out their next R&C game.
It's not a bad way to do business honestly. They develope something for a while that will guarantee some money and then in between being out something of their own.
Unfortunately, with the way the industry is, this is how things are going to be mostly.
@Eonjay
Of course they were happy, I remember when they were happy they were independent, but they saw how tough it was being that and without first party support and came running back to Sony.
I just want to add that $8m is only 265,000 copies at $30. The game will easily cross that.
No it didn't septic, you read projections and thought you read actual money made, calm down 🤣
"No it didn't septic, you read projections and thought you read actual money made, calm down"
So you saying he got excited and jumped the gun like a typical overzealous fanatic?
@Gazo
R&C lost $8 million. So after all the pride PS5 owners took in the game they didn't buy it? That's crazy. Some said before Sony 1st party games don't sell well. I guess it's true
@Maniac
Marvel came to Sony with the pitch to do a Marvel game after MS turned them down. Sony gave the job to Insomniac who got to choose any Marvel character to do a game for, and the rest is history
If there is one game they should have made money on it's Ratchet and Clank. That game was fun from start to finish. I hope this doesn't discourage them from making more games in the future.
Lol look at everyone here jumping to reply based only on other comment here
The claim that R&C made $73m while costing $81m was based on leaked 2020 presentation slide, and on the same leak you can also find Insomniac’s own claim that it already made $145m on R&C Rift Apart..
I didn't know Insomniac earned money from games. As a first party studio I figured all profits/losses were absorbed my the parent company.
Unless Sony coughs up the cash to buy the publishing rights from Microsoft, or the wild scenario of Microsoft snagging the IP from Sony happens, talking about sequels, ports, or even DLC is pretty much wishful thinking.
Source: https://gamevro.com/microso...
If it were on PlayStation it would’ve sold better. Being a Microsoft exclusive was a mistake.
Zeref running around calling everything a flop, bet he won't call this a flop, can't begin to imagine why.
well..... it did make IG some kind of $ unlike R&C which lost $8m in the process.
Does that count?
Well darth ... You went full fanboy and pretty much acting stupid or possibly can't read
As a user above said
They claim that R&C made $73m while costing $81m was based on leaked 2020 presentation slide, and on the same leak you can also find Insomniac’s own claim that it already made $145m on R&C Rift Apart..
Had a bigger budget
+ console shortage
+ is was ps5 only.
God if war and gt7 were made crossgen and made money in the same time period
“Yeah 😂😂😂 That’s why the newest ratchet game lost $8 million“
Sunset Overdrive budget $42.6 million
Ratchet & Clank budget $81 million
You do the math. 😉
You'd have a point if the numbers weren't from 2022, and before the PC port, and before the thread, mkis. Might not have made a huge profit, but it didn't lose money.
Before 2022 and before PC Port, yes
Be honest, you jumped to reply this only by looking at some other comment mentioning that while completely skipping the following replies aren’t you?
Sunset Overdrive budget $42.6 million
Ratchet & Clank budget $81 million
And R&C was profitable. Even with nearly twice the budget.
“Update to the previous Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart sales thread: It was profitable. Sold 2,7m(as of roughly February 2022)”
https://www.resetera.com/th...
Jin, now why did you have to go ahead and ruin thesoftware730's day like that by posting facts? Smh
I mean, maybe because of market reach. But it wouldn't sell better than R&C or SM games. It was a fun game, but not as enjoyable as the others, IMHO.
Dead Rising 3, Rise Son or Rome, the Titanfall franchise, and the Tomb Raider franchise were all hurt by Xbox exclusivity.
It was an exclusive because during that time Insomniac was not owned by Sony. Sony has to honor that contract or they will be forced to pay it out or go to court. No different then a Microsoft title being an Sony exclusive they have to honor the contract.
"where Sunset Overdrive is concerned, the money the studio has made off it is quite negligible, to say the least."
I'm sure that big platform jump had nothing to do with it right? Pull a Rare, win Rare Prizes.
Re. R&C and the 8 million, I wonder if hitting PS+ Extra hurt its legs? Good get for the service, but did it eat some sales?
More than likely, but it could also make new fans that wouldn't have normally played the game buy the new one.
Same excuse XBOX fans use and look at whats happening to them and their preferred console...
I think it did. This highlights the pitfall of day one releases on sub services. I know R and C was not day one but it would have benefited from having more time to garner sales on its own steam.
Glad MS is letting these studios have so much artistic freedom. The game looks amazing.
Sorry you feel that way, but know we had to partner with the right group that believed in us and the vision of the game, wanted to see that vision came to life, and was ok with us retaining the rights to our creation.In all of those regards,Microsoft has been a terrific partner in making Sunset Overdrive reality.
That's something you don't hear every day microsoft need more reactions like these.
Yh right. Money talks, simple as that and nothing is wrong with that. Devs should stop feel the need to explain themselves every time, We're all grown we understand money is important, we won't think less of Insomniac.
One thing though I'm kinda jealous. They give PlayStation crappy ass games back to back recently then Xbox gets the good looking one. This gen sure is gonna be interesting.
How am I downplaying Microsoft? It's naive to think money had nothing to do with Insomniac , the guys who wanted to go multiplat, going exclusive for the other side. It's business.
You really expect me to believe Sony or Nintendo wouldn't have backed a game like Sunset Overdrive? Microsoft was the only one to support their vision?
***While it is not hard to speculate the real reason behind this exclusivity deal(Insomniac wanted to retain the IP), perhaps Sony should have given them what they want.***
This assumes that Sony wouldn't have done this in the first place. It also assumes that other publishers wouldn't have done the same and allowed them to go completely third-party.
The reality is, Microsoft took what was once a developer who made games exclusive to their competitors platform and flipped them. I'm fairly certain they bent over backwards to do what they could to make this happen.
Microsoft is smart and influential. They can afford to make these type of moves. It's why they will continue to succeed in the business. Because they know how to take their competitors strength and flip it so it's now in their ballpark.
Sony lost the faith!?