When Hollow Knight: Silksong revealed its release date, it was like the parting of the Red Sea in the world of indie games. A number of developers scrambled to change their release dates to avoid going toe-to-toe with the Grand Theft Auto 6 of indie games. One of these games was CloverPit, a gambling game that the creators describe as the demonic lovechild of Balatro and Buckshot Roulette. And after moving its release date by several weeks, CloverPit is currently outselling Silksong on the Steam charts.
CloverPit is a roulette game that’s half roguelike and half social commentary on the evils of gambling. Players are locked in a rusty cell with nothing more than a slot machine and an ATM. The goal is to pay off their debt before the round ends. While the gameplay largely consists of pulling a lever and crossing your fingers, mechanics like power-ups and charms can affect your overall odds. As you go, tension mounts and the experience becomes something akin to a psychological horror game where the only way to climb out of the hole is to dig yourself deeper into it.
Initially slated to release on Sept. 3, CloverPit‘s developers pushed it down to come out on Sept. 26 instead. Despite releasing in the same window of time as the Steam Autumn sale, CloverPit is currently tearing up the charts. As of this writing, it’s in the top twenty global best-sellers. This might seem like low placement, but you’ve got to remember it’s going up against behemoths like Red Dead Redemption 2 selling at $14.99 or Cyberpunk 2077 at 65% off.
It’s also doing well enough that, despite being out for less than a week, it’s already moved 300,000 units. That’s an astounding number for an indie game made by two people. Factoring in things like publisher and Steam cuts, they’re likely making at least a million dollars if not more.
“CloverPit has gone viral since launch on Friday,” reads a blog post on CloverPit‘s Steam store page.
The post continues, “We’re just two little Italian devs… mamma mia, this is a dream come true!”
CloverPit‘s developers attribute the game’s success to its popularity with Twitch streamers like Vinesauce and Northerlion, who, together, helped CloverPit briefly reach more eyes on the platform than Fortnite. But other factors, like the publicity surrounding the game’s release date and offering CloverPit in a cheaper bundle that includes Balatro likely helped the game’s visibility as well. It’s been enough of a resounding success that CloverPit has even inspired copycat games on mobile.
The developers say that they’re monitoring fan feedback to improve the game and fix issues. For now, CloverPit‘s already gotten an update that includes quality of life changes like speedier animations for long combos.
“A MASSIVE THANK YOU to everyone who bought and played our game,” the blog post says.
