Free Doctor Who game pulls half a million downloads

City of the Daleks, the first episode in a free series of downloadable Doctor Who adventure games, saw 524,299 download requests in its first 12 days of availability, announced the BBC today.

It is one of four short, casual-orientated games tying in to the current television series, developed by Sheffield studio Sumo Digital. The game boasts the vocal talents of stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan.

"Matt Smith has conquered space, now he's conquering cyberspace," said Steven Moffat, head writer and executive producer of Doctor Who. "The way the games capture the look and feel of the TV series is amazing.

"Matt Smith walks like a drunken giraffe on-screen and also in-game - it's a virtuoso virtual performance, and one I'm delighted is proving to be so popular. Just worried I won't get any writing done, what with playing the game all the time. Half a million download requests in 12 days - amazing."

"To say we're thrilled that we've received in excess of half a million download requests within the first 12 days is an understatement," add Simon Nelson, head of BBC Multiplatform in Vision. "The project has been a real labour of love from the whole Doctor Who and multiplatform team, so we're delighted the reaction has been so strong. The response has been tremendous."

The TV show's website also saw its visits increase by 67 per cent during the game's week of release. A second episode of Doctor Who: The Adventure Games will be unveiled on June 22.