First conceived as an "Unreal Tournament 3" mod for a school project, "Sanctum" placed fourth in the 'Best FPS' and the 'Educational' categories of the $1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest. After transitioning to Epic's Unreal Development Kit, Coffee Stain licensed full source Unreal Engine 3 for "Sanctum." Since it was commercially released in April, "Sanctum" has sold more than 180,000 copies via digital distribution.
Like many indie developers, Coffee Stain Studios maintains close ties with its community. "The players are the life blood of the game," Lead Designer Oscar Jilsen said. "What the players want, the players get."
In keeping with their word, the Swedish development studio has released a large number of free updates for "Sanctum" at fans' request, with the latest patch introducing four-player co-op.
"Coffee Stain Studios are at the forefront of the new wave of independent developers, with an impressive ability to grow their business and cultivate 'Sanctum' as an IP," said Mike Gamble, European territory manager for Epic Games. "Hats off to Coffee Stain for selling more than 100,000 copies of their debut PC game in 48 hours, supporting their community with DLC and maintaining momentum despite stiff competition from other great games."
