Tinybuild harnesses Twitch to push Punch Club to success
Lazy Bear's game has now hit $2 million in revenue from 250,000 sales
Update: Punch Club has now reached $2 million in sales. Lazy Bear Games' breakout hit has doubled its lifetime revenue scarcely more than four weeks on from passing the $1 million milestone. According to a statement released by publishing partner Tinybuild, Punch Club has sold 250,000 units to consumers, with a great deal of that interest built though engagement with the Twitch community.
Tinybuild and Lazy Bear have launched some free DLC as a thank you to the game's players, and they will soon integrate a feature that will add betting to the mix. Players will be able to earn points by making wagers on fights broadcast through Twitch. Those points can then be turned into, "tangible rewards."
Original Story: Lazy Bear Games' Punch Club has earned more than $1 million in revenue in ten days, thanks in no small part to the participation of the Twitch community.
Tinybuild, Punch Club's publisher, staged a "Twitch Plays" event earlier this month, pledging not to release the game until the Twitch community had collectively beaten it using a flurry of hashtagged commands.
The "Twitch Plays" concept first appeared in 2014, when the community came together to beat Pokemon. Many other games have been played in this way since then, but Tinybuild has clearly demonstrated its potential as a marketing tool. Indeed, the indie publisher pledged to only launch Punch Club once the Twitch community had finished the job.
Lazy Bear's game was released on Steam on January 8, and the iOS version followed on January 14. Punch Club has earned $1 million in revenue during that period, surpassing 100,000 copies sold.