A new game called Content Warning has taken Steam by storm.
It is a first-person game where players explore urban ruins and use in-game cameras to produce videos to upload to SpöökTube. It appears to be parodying YouTubers who explore derelict buildings and “backrooms”, an internet term for barren, repetitive rooms, like disused offices and maintence tunnels.
The game was shadowdropped, meaning without any notice, on April 1, available for free. Fortunately, this gamble paid off, as six million people downloaded it in the 24 hour free period. User reviews for Content Warning are very positive, and it’s sixth in the Steam top sellers chart. This chart ranks games based on revenue, not downloads. It is now available for £6.99.
Content Warning also seems to be utilising the same budget aesthetics from games like Rogue Company. These cheap, cheerful multiplayer games can go viral due to word-of-mouth and their low pricepoint. It’s no surprise that eight of the products in Steam’s top ten sellers cost £34.99 or under.
At the time of writing, Content Warning has over 12,000 people viewing streams of the game on Twitch, showing it’s popular with streamers, too, which is likely also helping to boost visibility on the game.
Developer Landfall Games said to StealthOptional that shadowdropping isn’t a guaranteed way for a game to succeed, however. “We’re not sure shadow-dropping something for free this way works for everyone and we’ve had varying success with it throughout the years,” the developer said.
Content Warning has already received its first patch and hit a peak player count of over 200,000.
In other news, Xbox has announced its new educational podcasts, aimed at teaching kids essential soft skills through its popular Game Pass titles.