PEAK is a 4-week game jam that outsold developer Landfall’s other hit titles. Read on to learn more about how two studios banded together to make the game and its massive success.
PEAK’s Breakout Success
Created Out of "Jealousy"
PEAK is a breakout co-op game made from the collaboration of Another Crab's Treasure developer Aggro Crab and Content Warning developer Landfall, which was motivated by "jealousy." The developers banded together as "Landcrab" and spent 4 weeks in an Airbnb in Korea.
In an interview with PC Gamer on June 25, Aggro Crab Founder Nick Kaman said that when the team learned Content Warning was created in one month, they were blown away. He stated, "At the time we were on the precipice of launching our biggest game ever, Another Crab’s Treasure—an intense 3+ year-long project that burnt a lot of us out. While it was a success, Content Warning was a much bigger one made in MUCH less time."
Aggro Crab and Landfall already had a friendly relationship, and when Kaman suggested that they work together, they got a resounding yes. In February, three Aggro Crab devs and four Landfall members worked on PEAK in Korea. "We brought our computers to an Airbnb in Hongdae and locked tf in for a month," Kaman said.
However, the concept of PEAK was first pitched a year before its development. According to Aggro Crab Creative Director Caelan Rashby-Pollock, he conceived the idea while in a hot tub in Sweden.
He explained, "The concept was a lot more vague then and much closer to an open-world survival thingy, but we all quickly got excited about being a group of lost scouts on an island, and the macabre slapstick that can come from that."
Once the developers banded together in Korea, all they thought about was PEAK. "Basically any given moment was either working on Peak or getting food while talking more about Peak," Kaman stated. He also admitted that although it was one of the most intense projects they worked on, it was also the most fun they’ve had.
Although PEAK has gained popularity, the developers stated in the game’s FAQs that there are no plans to expand it at this point. They are currently rolling out bug fixes to support the game, but they said that both studios are focused on other projects under their belt.
1 Million Copies Sold in First 6 Days
With its groundbreaking success, PEAK immediately achieved a monumental milestone just 6 days after its launch. In a Twitter (X) post on June 22, developer Aggro Crab announced that PEAK sold more copies than their other hit title, Another Crab’s Treasure.
The post reads, "why did this stupid jam game sell more copies than another crabs treasure im gonna crash out." PEAK is currently the 2nd top-selling game on Steam, and has received "Very Positive" reviews on the gaming platform.
Based on the reviews, the game is one of the best co-op titles this year and has some of the funniest moments fans have experienced in a game. As of writing, it has reached an all-time 102,799 concurrent players, according to SteamDB.
Here at Game8, we gave PEAK a 76 out of 100 for its tight mechanics, clever co-op design, and devilish biomes. Despite the game experiencing occasional bugs and server issues, it makes up for its charm and challenge, all at a reasonable price. To know more about our thoughts on the game, check out our article below!
Source:
Peak devs say the hit comedy climber was pitched in a Swedish hot tub and developed in a frantic 4-week Korean game jam: 'We brought our computers to an Airbnb in Hongdae and locked tf in for a month'
PEAK FAQs
AGGRO CRAB Twitter (X) post on PEAK 1 Million Copies Sold
Steam Top Selling Games
PEAK SteamDB Charts
