Just a couple of days ago, we reported that the Witness was on track to sell more in one week than Braid did in an entire year. Jonathan Blow, the designer of both games, just confirmed that this is, in fact, the case, and provided a few more details on how the game is performing.
In a recent blog post, Blow says, “Across all platforms, The Witness has totalled over $5 million USD gross revenue in the first week, and it has sold substantially more than 100,000 units.” That outdoes Braid both by revenue and, more impressively, by units sold. The Witness costs more than twice what Braid did ($40 versus $15), and yet has sold more than double the number of copies.
It’s an impressive success for the artsy indie puzzler, which had been in development for nearly eight years, but due in part to taxes and storefront costs, the game hasn’t yet broken even. Blow is hopeful, though, that it’s on track to do so.
Sales have been roughly even on PC and PS4, though Blow’s not at liberty to discuss specific numbers from specific venues of distribution. The team is currently working on technical issues regarding PC graphics drivers, along with additional control and rendering option for both the PC and console versions of the game. Once those are sorted, they’ll be looking to bring the game to additional platforms.
