Epic: Bulletstorm hasn't been profitable

Epic Games president Mike Capp has revealed that People Can Fly's bum-blasting Bulletstorm "didn't make money for us," though he stands by it and the studio.

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The bum-blasting Bulletstorm "didn't make money for us," Epic Games president Mike Capps has told Kotaku. All the same, Capps stands by the shooter developed by its subsidiary studio People Can Fly.

Capp explained that Epic could have simply put People Can Fly to work making content for the hugely successful Gears of War series rather than take a chance on Bulletstorm. However, he said, that's not the sort of thing Epic wants itself or People Can Fly doing. And, presumably, Epic would've been quite pleased had it ended up with a new smash-hit franchise.

"The studio has shipped AAA content," Capps said. "The next thing we do with People Can Fly will be great."

Bulletstorm was released for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in February, followed by two $10 downloadable content packs, in April and June. There's still plenty of time for Epic to make a little more money on the shooter, and we can't assume that Epic and People Can Fly will outright drop the Bulletstorm franchise in favor of something new.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    July 25, 2011 8:00 AM

    Alice O'Connor posted a new article, Epic: Bulletstorm hasn't been profitable.

    Epic Games president Mike Capp has revealed that People Can Fly's bum-blasting Bulletstorm "didn't make money for us," though he stands by it and the studio.

    • reply
      July 25, 2011 8:05 AM

      [deleted]

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      July 25, 2011 8:06 AM

      They missed alot of fun opportunities, but I still enjoyed it.

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      July 25, 2011 8:07 AM

      was gonna say it's underrated but metacritic gives it 80+ on all platforms.

      wonder wtf happened.

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        July 25, 2011 8:08 AM

        bad demo, peoples hate for over done bro talk in all the marketing leading up to it.

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          July 25, 2011 8:23 AM

          I love the game its awesome, but I agree with you on what you say, it is probably what happened.

          For the final product was nothing like the demo or the marketing at all, shame, I want a sequel :(

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          July 25, 2011 9:13 AM

          I'll agree. I did not pick up the game because I didn't like the demo and the marketing made it look like a game I wouldn't enjoy.

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      July 25, 2011 8:08 AM

      That's too bad, it's a great fun game, I've been recommending it to people that will like it.

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      July 25, 2011 8:09 AM

      Well that's a shame because i thought it was pretty fun.

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      July 25, 2011 8:12 AM

      The bum-blasting Bulletstorm "didn't make money for us," Epic Games president Mike Capps has told Kotaku.

      There's still plenty of time for Epic to make a little more money on the shooter

      So does that mean they did make money, just not as much as they had hoped?

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      July 25, 2011 8:12 AM

      the demo killed it for a lot of people. that game was fun as fuck.

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      July 25, 2011 8:12 AM

      Didn't it launch at $60 on pc? I think that's why I didn't buy it if my memory serves.

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        July 25, 2011 8:24 AM

        yeah. I heard that price point and gameplay length and... yeah. I am waiting a lot more for reviews and sales on single player FPS titles.

        homefront/bulletstorm/DNF taught me good lessions, but fucking BRINK above all has taught me to seek the safe havens. it makes me really glad that BF3 and MW3 are coming out. those can't possibly suck that bad.

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        July 25, 2011 8:26 AM

        Yup. That's why I didn't buy it.

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        July 25, 2011 8:32 AM

        Same here

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        July 25, 2011 8:56 AM

        That, Games for Windows Live, and Dicktits. And then those who bought it complained about console-rific controls and tunnel-vision FOV.

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        July 25, 2011 8:56 AM

        You'd think the publisher would see the success of steam sales and that volume ˃ margin, but apparently not.

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          July 25, 2011 9:18 AM

          I feel like a total cheapskate, but you can get so many hours of gaming on Steam for less than the price of 1 $60 game. I spent $86 during the last steam sale and got 10 games and a bunch of DLC. A game better be packing insane value for me to spend $60.

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          July 25, 2011 9:47 AM

          launching at $60 gets those who want it at that price, and then gives you room to sell it cheaper on sale (which is better than selling it cheap without the ON SALE sign). If they start out at $40 they can never raise the price if they underestimated demand and they have a problem with the game being perceived as a budget title.

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        July 25, 2011 9:13 AM

        Good call. It was probably the worst purchase I've made all year.

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          July 25, 2011 9:18 AM

          Did you buy Homefront?

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            July 25, 2011 10:12 AM

            Homefront launched at $50. Was Bulletstorm $10 better? I never played Bulletstorm, but at least Homefront seemed to me to care about the pc version, whereas from what I've read Bulletstorm it was just a check box for them.

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              July 25, 2011 10:14 AM

              considering how Homefront was pretty universally panned and Bulletstorm got pretty solid reviews... yes it was $10 better. 85 vs 71 meta reviews on 360

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            July 25, 2011 10:29 AM

            Funny, that was my second worst purchase of the year.
            Once in a while I need a reminder of why I should never listen to hype.

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        July 25, 2011 10:19 AM

        Same here, although I wasn't really impressed with the demo either.

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      July 25, 2011 8:14 AM

      A shame. The beginning was a bit clunky (i experienced 2 bugs within 5 minutes of starting playing) but besides the inability to jump at whim it was a solid and very fun game. After I finished it I started again immediately on a harder setting and also set out to beat each of the Echoes and had an absolute blast doing so.

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      July 25, 2011 8:16 AM

      I'm liking the game, but maybe because I didn't come expecting much.

      And I know it's not the reason, but I'd still like to blame their lack of success on the stupid launch price tag and the moronic inclusion of GFWL, which upsets me to no end (because I have to go through a bunch of dialog boxes and wait for the thing to log in before I can play it single player).

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      July 25, 2011 8:17 AM

      best fps of 2011 so far

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      July 25, 2011 8:20 AM

      I had a blast. Great fun. In my mind, the true successor to DNF

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      July 25, 2011 8:27 AM

      Wow, they sold ~1M copies worldwide. Game budgets are really high, I can't imagine what it will be next generation.

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        July 25, 2011 9:18 AM

        Which is why I respectfully disagree with Jeff on Weekend Confirmed when get talks about pushing for the Holodeck in terms of visuals and AI. I am not saying we should not advance hardware, but if studios can't turn a profit we need to slow it down.

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          July 25, 2011 9:32 AM

          It's crazy, it just doesn't seem sustainable for most studios.

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      July 25, 2011 8:29 AM

      Awesome game marred by some of the worst dialogue in a game in recent history.

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      July 25, 2011 8:37 AM

      maybe because it didnt have no true multiplayer

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        July 25, 2011 8:47 AM

        Why would a game fail by having multiplayer?

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      July 25, 2011 8:40 AM

      Tried the demo, got dissuaded. Ran like crap on 2500k, 8gb ram, 2x460 SLI. Low FoV, forced gameplay style, weird mouse behavior (if I remember correctly).

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        July 25, 2011 9:12 AM

        Agreed on all accounts. Fov is horrible.

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        July 25, 2011 11:54 AM

        We must have played different games. The full game ran perfectly on a i7 920 with 6 GB RAM and a single 6970. No FOV problems, no weird mouse behavior beyond, you know, changing the mouse settings.

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      July 25, 2011 8:42 AM

      Perhaps people are finally tiring of these kinds of games. Call Of Duty player base has Call Of Duty, they don't necessarily need to be into games or even games that are similar.

      I'm surprised though, I thought games like this sell by the bucket load. Then again saying it didn't make any money doesn't mean it didn't sell. Perhaps it was a case of being over budget.

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        July 25, 2011 8:58 AM

        I didn't get the impression that this was aimed at the Call of Duty playerbase. They seem like two very different breeds of FPS.

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      July 25, 2011 9:03 AM

      Bulletstorm was impressive for a brand-new action/FPS franchise. I loved how not-serious the game took itself and the killshots were really cool. I thought Bulletstorm was a great action hero game, where DNF kind of stumbled a little bit on.

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      July 25, 2011 9:09 AM

      Well, maybe they shouldnt have used GFWL.
      Maybe developers will start getting the hint that we dont want that crap on PC.
      :)

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      July 25, 2011 9:15 AM

      The demo wasn't fun and it cost too much at launch (for PC anyway). :(

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      July 25, 2011 9:20 AM

      Too much Cliffy B in the previews. That guy, while capable of making fun games, just comes across douchy.

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      July 25, 2011 9:23 AM

      Maybe if they put it up on the steam sale they would have sold a few units.

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      July 25, 2011 9:26 AM

      It was a really, really fun game. Save for Portal 2, probably my favourite of 2011 so far.

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      July 25, 2011 9:29 AM

      That's unfortunate. I thought Bulletstorm was a fun, inventive, and bold step for fps(much, MUCH moreso than DNF). I wish mainstream gamers could look outside their tiny, closed-off little worlds and take a chance on a game that isn't just another rehash of CoD, Halo, Resistance, MoH, Killzone, etc.

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      July 25, 2011 9:32 AM

      [deleted]

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      July 25, 2011 9:45 AM

      Bulletstorm was super fun from start to finish. If you enjoy FPS games that don't take themselves too seriously, pick it up the next time you see it on sale.

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      July 25, 2011 9:46 AM

      [deleted]

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      July 25, 2011 9:50 AM

      They made a game in a dead genre. Apparently no one wants stupid over the top action shooters, they want realistic "sim" style stuff. It will be interesting to see how serious sam 3 does.

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        July 25, 2011 9:54 AM

        It will do ok because it originates from that era. Now is just not the time for new IP's in that sub-genre.

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        July 25, 2011 10:17 AM

        I dont think that has anything to do with it. if it had been released with a solid MP component then it would have done a lot better.

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        July 25, 2011 10:35 AM

        well, serious sam has a pretty respectable pedigree. bullestorm had nothing but bros bros and mammary penis's.

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        July 25, 2011 12:13 PM

        It bombed because it sucked. Also no jumping, wtf?!

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        July 25, 2011 12:50 PM

        Serious Sam probably costs less money to make, so it has that going for it.

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        July 25, 2011 4:17 PM

        I disagree! I want realistic sim style stuff and my options are limited to Arma 2 at this point. I find it crazy that there is no market for realistic games any more. The arcade over the top genre is over saturated.

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      July 25, 2011 10:15 AM

      After hearing how fun the game was, I finally picked it up a while back. It was pretty decent but it just didn't really captivate me over time. Not enough to it, I guess.

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      July 25, 2011 10:20 AM

      That's a shame, it was the most fun I've had with an FPS in a long time.

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      July 25, 2011 10:32 AM

      the game was fun but it felt a bit repetitive and easy even on the highest difficulty

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      July 25, 2011 10:36 AM

      I loved that game. My game of the year so far. Too bad they will probably not make another.

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      July 25, 2011 10:37 AM

      i guess the 12 year old beavis and butthead addicts that built time machines in the mid 90's and came to live here in the future world whom they targetted with the games marketting did not have nearly as much disposable income as Epic believed.

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      July 25, 2011 10:41 AM

      I had a great time with that game. The weapons were fun and even the multiplayer was fun but definitely needed more for the price. I got it on sale for around 30 bucks and that was great price. Tons of fun.

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      July 25, 2011 11:23 AM

      unfortunate - it was a game i actually played to completion

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      July 25, 2011 11:26 AM

      the intro level in that game was so cool and interesting.. the rest of the game was the same crap over and over and over and over.

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      July 25, 2011 11:30 AM

      Best classic FPS in a long time. Great level design, great mechanic with the whip, and the action is just plain fun.

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      July 25, 2011 11:39 AM

      It was a $60 console port. Epic/PcF get what they deserve for trying to push that garbage on us PC users for $60. The graphics were crap, dx 9, shitty console FoV. Seriously?! They expected to make money?! Cliffy is an idiot. Quit pushing games with ten year old technology on us for premium price and you might actually sell something.

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        July 25, 2011 11:44 AM

        I played it on the PC and it looked amazing and controlled like I would have expected any FPS to control.

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          July 25, 2011 1:34 PM

          This. The graphics and controls were awesome, except for inside menus.

          I don't understand why a good PC game isn't allowed to be the same price as a console game, either. Microsoft doesn't suck up license fees for XBox games, do they? I know Nintendo and Sega did back in the day.

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            July 25, 2011 4:19 PM

            Yeah MS and Sony totally do! It's quite a large amount too!

    • spl legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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      July 25, 2011 12:04 PM

      I liked it for the 30 bucks I spent on it.

      I can't imagine buying it at the 60 dollar release price. That was just absurd for what you were getting, imo.

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      July 25, 2011 12:12 PM

      [deleted]

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      July 25, 2011 12:18 PM

      the demo bored me

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      July 25, 2011 1:31 PM

      Nooooooooo. It was awesome and funny.

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      July 25, 2011 2:34 PM

      Bulletstorm is a shallow but exciting new IP that could easily and comfortably cross into genres with lower overhead; think Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project with online co-op. Warhammer 40K: Kill Team is another example of simplifying the development process and integrating a quality IP into the mix.

      Bulletstorm's extraordinary shallowness actually helps its ability to be blended into cheaper games by breaking the 4th wall in dialogue and acknowledging its own failures.

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      July 25, 2011 3:15 PM

      I have to laugh silly game over all.

      The voice work was poor only made worse by every shoving the word dick in none stop to the point it was every second word.

      The game play was quite bland dispite how colourfull it trys to be.

      LOL balance of weapons shotgun and sniper the rest was 100% useless.

      It was not long enough to be worth the price but given how poor the game was thats quite a good thing.

      Over all i hope they drop Dickstorm and make a real game some thing with a script not done by a 10 year old.

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      July 25, 2011 3:34 PM

      I had to decrypt the ini file to fix the FOV and mouse acceleration in the demo. Instant non-purchase.

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      July 25, 2011 4:23 PM

      I played and hated the demo. Heard the game was actually a lot better than the demo and then saw the price and thought I'd get it when it was on sale. Until this news article I'd forgotten all about it. Is it less than a tenner yet?

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      July 25, 2011 4:25 PM

      Too bad, it was a really fun game and I'd like to see a sequel

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      July 25, 2011 4:35 PM

      I'm not surprised it didn't make money. It was pretty forgettable.

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      July 25, 2011 5:36 PM

      See Epic, now you can't blame PC on your failure.

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      July 25, 2011 6:38 PM

      I thought it was fun... :P

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      July 26, 2011 1:57 AM

      I will always remember that part with the vent shaft and you come back in the same room. Loved that :D

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      July 26, 2011 2:01 AM

      pretty good game. i really hate the way epic makes all their games looks sepia and washed out colors though

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        July 26, 2011 9:17 AM

        And all their characters look stumpy-muscular and overly-designed. When you put too much 'stuff' on a character it just makes them a visual mess.

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      July 26, 2011 5:22 AM

      A combination of GFWL and Epic's generally awful attitude to the PC stopped me having virtually any interest in the game whatsoever, before I even tried the demo.

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      July 26, 2011 9:15 AM

      Maybe people don't want those types of games? Hey, I bet they could learn something from this.

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      July 26, 2011 10:15 AM

      If they had player versus player it would had stood out a lot more I'd think.

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      July 31, 2011 10:53 PM

      One of the best and most fun games I played in about 7 years.
      Those that bought it and loved it BRAVO!
      Those that stood on the sidelines and are waited for whatever ~ FAIL!

      Boring, repetitive?
      That about sums up every game in creation. That's the very nature of gaming. You do the same thing over and over. If you think the action as its presented in Bulletstom is boring then you suffer from ADD.

      I hope they make another one and get a chance to work on some of the things that didn't work all that well. But they made FPS fun again and that counts for something. Cause Call of Duty got lame right after part 4.

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