{"id":1216532,"date":"2026-02-22T12:03:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T12:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=602867"},"modified":"2026-02-22T12:03:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T12:03:51","slug":"ps5-shooter-goes-from-5-players-to-bestseller-after-devs-defend-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/ps5-shooter-goes-from-5-players-to-bestseller-after-devs-defend-game\/","title":{"rendered":"PS5 shooter goes from 5 players to bestseller after devs defend game"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hypercharge<\/em>, a whimsical action figure shooter, just went from near-obscurity to becoming one of the top 10 sellers on PS5 over the weekend<\/a>, and it\u2019s all thanks to the developers\u2019 honesty. Every day, thousands of new games are released on major storefronts, and the sad reality is that most won\u2019t make it. Live service titles like Fortnite<\/em><\/a> already hoard most of the user base on any given platform. Some games earn well below whatever it took to make them in the first place. And so we arrive at Hypercharge: Unboxed<\/em>, a third-person shooter where players control action figures, which was ported at the end of May to Xbox and PlayStation.<\/p>\n

Originally released in 2020 on Steam, Hypercharge<\/em> arrived on the scene with plenty of fanfare. Footage of the game periodically went viral on social media as onlookers were delighted by the prospect of a game that looked straight out of Pixar\u2019s Toy Story<\/em>. Steam users have granted Hypercharge<\/em> a \u201cVery Positive\u2019\u201d rating, with one top review on the platform declaring the experience \u201cpure childhood joy.\u201d Not bad for a game made by a team of 5 people.<\/p>\n

But that was years ago. In 2025, the shooter landscape is more competitive than ever, which means that success was not assured for Hypercharge<\/em>. Despite launching with cross-platform support, it seems that interest in the game was minimal at the start of 2025. On Steam, the top-voted review posted on May 12th of this year declared, \u201cGame is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Players on console soon realized this was the case, with at least one player taking to social media to voice their dissatisfaction. This player claimed there weren\u2019t enough players to form a full lobby, and that there were \u201cliterally 5 people online.\u201d<\/p>\n

This prompted developer Digital Cybercherries to respond, and the post was surprisingly earnest. The makers of the action figure game acknowledged that there weren\u2019t many people enjoying the game, but that they were OK with that so long as the game brought someone, somewhere joy. <\/p>\n

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Maybe there aren\u2019t thousands of players online. But somewhere, someone\u2019s on the couch with their kid, playing split-screen, laughing, figuring things out together, side by side.<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s all Hypercharge ever is\u2026 that\u2019s enough for us. Not every game is meant to be online-only. https:\/\/t.co\/ae6d2aLpFy<\/a><\/p>\n

— Hypercharge | Out Now on PlayStation! (@HyperchargeGame) May 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The developers followed up this post with a longer explanation where they said that ultimately, they had made the game they would have wanted as children.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMaking games has never been about getting rich, becoming famous, or having the most concurrent players\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cMaking games has never been about getting rich, becoming famous, or having the most concurrent players,\u201d the post reads. \u201cTo us, being rich means waking up every day to do what we love with the people we love [\u2026] as long as we can pay the bills, feed our families, and keep creating what we care about, then yeah, in our eyes, we\u2019re already rich.\u201d<\/p>\n

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We made the game we always wanted as kids. And we did it. That\u2019s our success. pic.twitter.com\/OhDUmf9CO3<\/a><\/p>\n

— Hypercharge | Out Now on PlayStation! (@HyperchargeGame) May 31, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The devs\u2019 display of vulnerability exploded on social media, where the post has accrued over 600,000 views. This attention was enough to catapult the game into the top 10 sellers on PS5 over the weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cPicked it up yesterday to support you guys on PS5 myself!\u201d one response reads. \u201cI\u2019m gonna get this game when I get paid again,\u201d another says. <\/p>\n

While Hypercharge<\/em> seems to have fallen out that bestseller list now, it\u2019s still at number 5 in the bestselling new releases for PS5. The whirlwind of attention was still welcome by the small developer.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, it has been surreal,\u201d Joe Henson, head of marketing for Hypercharge<\/em>, told Polygon over email. \u201cWe are a team of five, with no publisher, no outside funding, and no big marketing budget. Just five friends who grew up loving games and wanted to make one that meant something to us. To see Hypercharge<\/em> go viral and now stand alongside major AAA titles as the #5 bestselling new\u00a0release on PlayStation is something we never anticipated. It has genuinely touched us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Henson did not share specific player base numbers with Polygon, only noting that the game doesn\u2019t have a \u201chuge\u201d player base but that there are thousands of players across all platforms. He also reiterated that the developers consider the game more of a co-op experience, and the online functionality is more of a bonus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI completely understand it can be frustrating if you\u2019re trying to jump into online matches and can\u2019t find anyone,\u201d Henson says. \u201cI hear that. But I don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair to call a game a failure when it\u2019s doing exactly what it set out to do: offer a solid offline and local co-op experience, with online as a nice extra, not the main focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for what\u2019s next, it\u2019s business as usual. There are bugs to fix, and updates to dole out to ensure cross-platform is working as intended. But the team is still taking some time to bask in the accomplishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a monumental task, but one we are incredibly proud of,\u201d Henson says. <\/p>\n

Hypercharge: Unboxed<\/em> is available on PC, Xbox Series X\/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.<\/p>\n

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