Have you heard of Keeper, Double Fine’s surreal puzzle game where you wordlessly play as a lighthouse? It’s weird, and a little short, but Keeper is also a unique experience that fans and critics alike seem to enjoy.
Despite that warm critical reception, the ambitious adventure game is currently attracting around 100 concurrent players on Steam. That number has sparked discussion on social media about the game’s success and the role marketing has played in ensuring that outcome. For every fan speaking highly of Keeper, there’s seemingly a surprised fan who didn’t realize Double Fine was working on a new game — much less that it came out last week. Does this mean the game has failed, though?
Double Fine is owned by Microsoft, which immediately complicates the circumstances surrounding the game. Notably, Keeper was released on both Windows PC and Xbox Game Pass at the same time, and player counts for Microsoft’s subscription service are not public. Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but releases like Keeper are typical for the company. Game Pass might flaunt big-ticket releases as a reason to pay for the service, but on a month-to-month basis, it’s the smaller games that keep things vibrant. It’s common to hear fans say they gave something a try simply because it was on Game Pass, or say that they’ll wait to try something out when it hits Game Pass.
And while Microsoft keeps insisting it is already thinking about its next generation of Xbox devices, the tech company has also repeatedly signaled it is looking well beyond the confines of proprietary hardware. This is why you can use Game Pass on a wide variety of products, and why Xbox games keep getting released on PlayStation and Nintendo consoles. Hardware exclusivity seems like a thing of the past. By proxy, Game Pass might be the Xbox brand’s true flagship product. And what
Microsoft & Double Fine’s Keeper has 100 players on Steam? Does it matter?
