Early Access sales helped We Happy Few dev Compulsion quintuple in size
Studio went from seven staff to 40, spends more than Kickstarter total every month
Compulsion Games has revealed that revenues generated from the Early Access version of We Happy Few have not only helped improve the game, but have also massively expanded the studio.
In an interview with Engadget, founder Guillaume Provost said the developer was able to use this money to hire veteran staff from the likes of Ubisoft, Square Enix, PlayStation and Warner Bros. As such, the team's headcount has raised from seven people when the project started to the 40 working on it today.
"Early access didn't just help shape the overall direction and focus of the game, it shaped the very fabric and makeup of our team," he said. "It allows us to bring the game's story campaign to a level of sophistication and depth that would have otherwise been out of reach."
We Happy Few was originally funded by Kickstarter, raising $334,754 back in 2015. Interestingly, Provost claims the newly expanded team spends more than this every month on the game's development.
Compulsion also revealed earlier this week that it has signed a deal with Gearbox Publishing that will see the full game launch on April 13th, 2018.
The Early Access version of We Happy Few first launched just over a year ago, not only via Steam but also the Xbox Game Preview service thanks to ID@Xbox. It initially prompted disappointment from players for not living up to the BioShock-esque promise of previous teasers, but the extra year's development and larger team has reportedly enabled Compulsion to make the game a much more narrative-driven experience.