Controversial PS Plus PS5 game a big success, says developer

One of the PlayStation Plus 'free' PS5 games included in its lineups — Godfall: Challenger Edition for PS5 and PS4 — was actually a huge success according to the developer, Counterplay Games. The looter-slasher later came to Xbox.

Seasoned Gaming did an interview with Daniel Nordlander, game director at Godfall developer Counterplay Games. Last year, the team released Godfall: Challenger Edition as a part of the PlayStation Plus lineup for December 2021.

Godfall: Challenger Edition follows Battlefield V, Call of Duty 4 PS Plus success

Godfall originally was a PS5-only release game that combines sci-fi and medieval imagery into a very pretty looter slasher. It wasn't received well at launch, with many calling it bland but praising the graphical fidelity. It then had a strange abbreviated demo-like version launched in Plus' December lineup for PS5 and PS4 called the Challenger Editon instead of the full game. It appears that this restructuring methodology brought the game huge success.

"We were thrilled to welcome new players via our launch of Challenger Edition through [PlayStation Plus]," Nordlander said. "In fact, in just one month, Challenger Edition across platforms saw more than 2.5 million new players join the fight for Aperion. From our perspective, this was a big win."

Players who started this version would immediately get put to the endgame material and be able to try out the high-level gear in a limited range of modes — a bit odd for a game wherein the levelling up and loot collection is the major draw, but what do we know given its success. It certainly has a solid community of players. Those Godfall trophies are reasonably tricky and will take you around 40 hours (could be ten hours less or more, depending on how naturally you play). The game has been well supported by Counterplay Games, with Primal, Lightbringer, and Exalted expansions released, which are set to be followed by the Fire & Darkness Expansion.

It wasn't exactly a well-liked inclusion at the time, with our best Plus games of the year and December Plus games poll comments not having great things to say.

This is somewhat reflective of the wider response, with many pointing out that Plus felt like it was becoming a graveyard for games that hadn't drawn in the audience they wanted at launch — look at Knockout City, Hood: Outlaws & Legends, Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and Tribes of Midgard as good examples of this (some successful and some less so). However, to see Challenger Edition pull in 2.5 million with inclusion on Plus and a free week on the Epic Games Store means that many other community-driven games will likely try to emulate the success to boost player numbers.

What do you think of the news? Is this an interesting test case? Do you think we will see new 'entry versions' of the games we enjoy? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by Kes Eylers-Stephenson

Editor Kes is our resident expert in PlayStation and other gaming news. He writes about exclusives like The Last of Us and God of War, PS Plus news, and his favourite games — The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed, and explosive racers — before an evening swim.