Buckshot Roulette has passed one million copies sold after its Steam launch, and developer Mike Klubnika is planning multiplayer, console launches, and mobile.
Buckshot Roulette is an ugly, mean little game that pits players in a no-win scenario against a sinister, shotgun wielding dealer. The game is a solo effort from developer Mike Klubnika, and it blew up after its launch on itch.io, in part because it found popularity on short-form video platforms. The game has since launched on Steam and has now sold over a million copies. In a world where big-budget, wonderfully crafted games can – and often do – fall off the radar without making a splash, it’s interesting to interrogate the unexpected success of a small game, especially one that’s designed to be so viscerally unpleasant.
“Buckshot Roulette was never meant to be a commercially viable product, or anything that extended beyond my usual audience. Even though the initial release did have a price tag, there was no actual calculations or accounting going on,” said Klubnika in an email interview with Polygon. “Apart from the very basics, I knew nothing about game marketing, community building and such, so I just put it out there, hoping that other people will have fun with my idea.
