FuturLab: No publisher will sign Velocity 2X sequel, despite millions of downloads
UK studio shares turbulent journey behind Velocity Supernova, the secretly-developed sequel it might never release
Velocity 2X developer FuturLab has offered insight into the struggles it faces getting publishers to sign the sequel - even though millions of players have enjoyed the first game.
In a Twitter thread posted by the studio's official account, the UK firm said it has already been working on "the bells and whistles sequel" to the 2014 title - entitled Velocity Supernova - but stressed that the upcoming Switch version is likely the last hope it can convince publishers to back such a title.
The tweeted "truth bomb" begins by recounting how Velocity 2X first shot to fame with the PlayStation 4 and Vita versions, which were released for free via PlayStation Plus. While studio says this was "great for downloads (well into the millions)" the presence of a large playerbase isn't enough for publishers, who "want to see actual unit sales."
The physical version for these platforms was published by Badland Games, but FuturLab describes this as a "very public disaster", adding "we will likely never see another dime from it."
Unfortunately timing meant the the Steam version, published by Activision's Sierra label, arrived the same weekend as Windows 10, which introduced a game-breaking bug for Nvidia graphics cards that "took us a year to fix". As such, the game flopped on Steam.
For the upcoming Switch version, FuturLab has turned to Curve Studios. While FuturLab recognises it could have self-published on Nintendo's console, the studio hopes that a success on Switch will convince Curve to sign and publish Velocity Supernova.
"We've tried, over and over and over to get a sequel signed," the studio posted. "It's the same every time. It looks and feels amazing, so everyone is interested. Until they see the actual sales of 2X.
"Pretty much any publisher you can think of has seen it. Sequel to a 90 Metacritic? Wow. Does it look great? Yep. Does it play great? Yep. Does it do new things? Hell yes. Ok, we're interested. How many players of the previous game? Over a million. Great! How did it sell? Oh..."
Curve is expected to announce the release date for the the Switch version soon, with FuturLab stressing this is "probably your last chance to see a fully deserving sequel happen."