Blizzard is far from the only company making bank thanks to millions of gamers stuck at home sheltering from the pandemic right now. Sandbox Interactive, the studio behind Albion Online, is also doing well right about now, and unlike Blizz, SI isn’t afraid to talk real numbers, as it’s put out a population update that claims the game saw half a million monthly users in April. The studio says two factors – the launch of Queen in January and COVID-19 – have boosted the community.
“The Queen Update, released January 20, 2020, was by far the most successful Albion Online content update since launch, confirmed by consistent population growth since January and a record-high of over 500,000 monthly users for the month of April. Nearly six months in the making, Queen was nothing less than a complete revisioning of Albion’s high-level endgame, although the new features and systems it introduced affected players of all levels and playstyles. On a more bittersweet note, player numbers have also been affected by the lockdown and quarantine measures worldwide. We know many in the Albion Online community have been touched by the current pandemic, and are facing numerous present and future challenges.”
The studio says that its good fortunes mean it’s hiring. It aims to expand its performance-oriented dev group, continue revamping “with a larger playerbase in mind,” and “further expand” the dev team.
