When "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon" was first announced, many gamers thought the DLC was an April Fool's Day joke.
"Far Cry 3" was a very serious and heady game, while Ubisoft decided to throw out the window with "Blood Dragon." "Blood Dragon" featured a horde of 80s clichés and out-of-this-world enemies, which gamers quickly flocked to when the DLC was released as a stand-alone game. Now, in a new interview with GamesIndustry International, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has revealed that the DLC has sold over half a million copies in under two months, leading the publisher to rethink how they go about their digital downloads.
"Blood Dragon" not only sold well, but made the original "Far Cry 3" even more popular with gamers. Guillemot revealed that after "Blood Dragon" was released, "Far Cry 3" saw a jump in sales. Perhaps this will lead to Ubisoft expanding other popular franchises in unique ways through DLC, such as "Assassin's Creed."
Guillemot revealing how well "Blood Dragon" sales have been is unusual, as the ESA does not reveal digital-only sales and most companies choose to not reveal how good or bad their DLC has sold. Guillemot states that he wishes that the ESA would have greater transparency with digital sales:
"It gives all the industry better visibility on what's happening, And not just the industry, but all the supporters of the industry and the financial community, as well. So we need to have more information to help the industry continue to grow," Guillemot said.
The CEO also called for publishers and developers to be transparent as well, as they often hide their numbers from competitors.
"When you can, you keep all your secrets...Everybody feels that if the other guys knew where they were getting their money from, competitors would jump on that. Which is true. But what we've seen is that very often, if you receive as much information as you give, it's not negative," he said.