10 Jaw-Dropping Video Game Success Stories You Need To Hear

2. Shovel Knight

If you've not played Shovel Knight and you've got a bit of love for either incredibly hard titles and 2D platformers, you owe it to yourself to give it a bash. As soon as you've pinged off an enemy's head and felt the chip-tune soundtrack kick in as you scoop up another mound of gold to take home, you'll be hooked.

Developed by Yacht Club Games - and originally born from a Kickstarter campaign - Shovel Knight smashed its starter goals and just last year the developer decided to release the actual figures behind every part of the game's development. They approach the whole thing very frankly, giving specific totals for everything from individual developer costs to commentaries on the industry itself.

The biggest takeaway stats you need to know are that the team was only six people big, and that they went through hell trying to actually live alongside devoting enough time to the project itself. The devs mention that they knew they had 15,684 backers just from the first week, and with that many people eagerly waiting to snap up your game (alongside the general public) they could assume they'd sell up to 60k units overall.

Of course it wouldn't be on this list if the projected predictions had held true though, and even in the first week of sales they absolutely dwarfed the overall projection, netting 75,000 units which quickly led to a monthly total of 180,000, making Shovel Knight one of the most incredible home-grown successes in gaming history.