Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is a Soulslite released this year by indie studio A44, with only one other game to their name in Ashen. The game recently surpassed 500,000 players, a monumental victory for a team of 60. Note that this includes Xbox GamePass players.

Comparing Flintlock to something like Elden Ring would be ridiculous, but Lies of P (another Soulslike due out in September 2023) is a much more fair comparison. Lies of P had already sold over 1,000,000 copies by October of that same year, which was staggering considering the teams behind it, Neowiz Games and Round8 Studios, had never attempted a Soulslike game before. Lies of P was a critical and community favorite, and was nominated for two awards at The Game Awards that year.

So why did Lies of P outperform Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn in the same time frame (not counting GamePass players)? You could argue that it all comes down to timing and resources. Lies of P came out during a major Soulslike content drought, and was certainly billed as a savior of sorts for all of us who were hungry for some substantial humiliation. Riding on the endless hype train of yet-to-be-released Elden Ring DLC, and with significant financial backing from its large development team, Lies of P had all the balls to pull off.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn was always at a bit of a disadvantage back then, as it came out just after Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and people were still actively playing it. This is somewhat comparable to the rather unfortunate release of Horizon: Forbidden West, which came out just a week before Elden Ring and suffered somewhat of a sales stagnation when Elden Ring did come out. Still, for A44 to make a game this genuinely good (if not imperfect) is an absolutely monumental feat, and 500,000 players is honestly still less than they deserve, but it's still a testament to the team and their passion for what they've created.