It’s now been a week since Species: Unknown launched in Early Access. And what an intense week it’s been! We wanted to take a moment to share some numbers and reflections on this exciting beginning. Because Early Access is, above all, a journey we take together.
Over 28,000 players
In just one week, more than 28,000 of you have discovered Species: Unknown. That’s incredible and very encouraging for an Early Access launch!
Meanwhile, the demo has been downloaded more than 60,000 times. We’ve decided to keep the demo available on Steam, and we’ve also added translations to it. It’s now playable in 11 different languages.
Interest in the adventure has also grown significantly in recent days. The wishlist count has doubled, reaching 85,000. That’s very promising for the future and motivates us to keep delivering high-quality content for everyone who has shown interest in Species: Unknown.
Since launch, we’ve already released two patches. Your feedback, whether technical, about gameplay, or the game’s atmosphere has been invaluable in helping us prioritize our first fixes.
We want to thank everyone who took the time to write on our Discord server and on Steam to share their observations. That’s exactly the kind of interaction we were hoping for.
Some numbers about your games
Here’s what we’ve observed during this first week of gameplay:
Most of the sessions played were private matches, which tells us that many of you wanted to share the experience with friends and that’s fantastic! Setting the price at $9.99 was exactly meant to make it easier to play together in small groups.
About 4 out of 5 matches were played in multiplayer. We’re proud of that statistic, as we put a lot of work into the game’s cooperative aspect.
50% of all sessions were played by 2 players, about 15% by 3 players, another 15% by 4 players, and the rest solo.
90% of you played with keyboard and mouse, and 10% with a controller. We’re glad we prepared proper controller support for that 10% of players who prefer this setup.
A Few Insights on In-Game Behavior
When we looked at which upgrades you purchased the most with your Ucredits, we found that Stamina was by far the most popular, followed by the Minimap upgrades, and then the Flashlight improvements.
Among the tools, the Motion Tracker was the most purchased, followed by the Shield, and then Health injector.
Finally, we’ve noticed that a few hundred of you are already fully equipped to start capturing specimens. Good hunting out there!
Your Feedback and Support
You’ve already posted over 690 reviews, with 95% positive ratings. That’s an incredible number for an Early Access launch, and an immense source of motivation for the team, thank you !
If you’ve enjoyed your first hours on Species: Unknown, leaving a Steam review is one of the best ways to support an indie studio. Every review helps the game gain visibility and continue to grow.
We also want to thank everyone who purchased the Supporter Pack.
It’s a pure act of support, and seeing so many of you pick it up means a lot to us.
You’ve especially loved the plushie included inside. It actually represents the studio’s mascot, and we’re thrilled to see it finding new homes among so many players ready to take care of it.
A Growing Community
Since launch, a huge number of you have joined our Discord server. That’s where we talk, share development previews, and where many new ideas are born. Joining the Discord literally helps make the game better, thank you to everyone already contributing.
And a special shoutout to streamers and content creators: last Monday night, Species: Unknown ranked among the top 16 most-watched games on Twitch. Seeing thousands of viewers discover the game together was an emotional moment for the whole team.
What’s Next?
We’ve received an impressive number of suggestions/reports/feedback in the past few days.
We’re currently taking the time to analyze, evaluate, and prioritize them.
It’s a lot of background work, but it’s well underway.
We’ll be publishing a dedicated roadmap article at the end of the Steam Scream Fest, to give you a clearer view of our next steps and what to expect in the coming months.
Thank you for your warm welcome, your kindness, and your energy.
This first week has laid an incredible foundation and the journey is only just beginning.
The WanadevStudio Team