Even though the game has been around for a few years now, Hypercharge is coming up as one of the most interesting games on Steam, and in the future it'll come to Xbox and Playstation as well. The recent success of Hypercharge is coming from several social media posts that went viral by showcasing the unique gameplay loop that the developers at Digital Cybercherries have been working on since 2015, when the UK-based studio was first founded. However, the road to the top wasn't simple; the development of Hypercharge had its challenges.
What makes Hypercharge stand out from other shooter games is that it hits the '90s nostalgia just about right by having a cast of different action figures to choose from and customize, as well as the scale typical of films like Toy Story and Small Soldiers. The game has now reached Steam's front page as a top seller multiple times, and its Xbox launch window seems to have been pinned down to Q1 2023, almost 8 years since development started. Joe Henson from Digital Cybercherries talked to Game Rant about what the journey of developing Hypercharge was like for the indie team, and what sorts of trials and tribulations they had to face.
How Hypercharge Went Viral Despite Struggles
Something that Henson stated multiple times is that the game went through a rough patch over the years because of the lack of funds and how difficult things have been, but it's also true that Hypercharge's story is one of persistence and commitment. Hypercharge first hit the digital shelves of Steam in 2017 as an early access title, but due to a combination of things, the game basically flopped, much to the dismay of its creators. However, Digital Cybercherries didn't give up, and instead essentially gave it a second early access launch in 2019 by revisiting everything and adding more co-op elements into the mix.
Even though the game was doing better, 2019 was still a tough time for the team because several developers, including Henson, were working a day job to make a living and spent extra hours on Hypercharge whenever possible. Still, Hypercharge then launched on Nintendo Switch in 2020, and it started to become clearer that the interest for action figures and nostalgic co-op games was indeed there. Between the success on Switch, the skyrocketing popularity on social media, and Hypercharge finally hitting the right audience on Steam, the game rapidly became viral multiple times over the course of 2022.
"Up until now, one thing I noticed, I think especially Xbox players were very vocal about how they wanted a game like Hypercharge on that platform because it has local co-op split-screen and PvP split-screen, something that's become rare. One of the first tweets I did went viral. I wanted to see what people would think of us bringing this game on Xbox, even though there was no date yet."
This caught the attention of Xbox, which offered Digital Cybercherries the means necessary to have Hypercharge launch on its next-gen consoles, and the indie game amassed a total of over 40,000 subscribers to the Xbox newsletter in just two weeks. However, part of this success is derived from the fact that Henson had to go through a dark time when he, as the sole developer responsible for the marketing and the PR of Hypercharge, was often sent threats and abusive mails regarding the Xbox launch window. Henson didn't share this with the rest of the team, but eventually, he spoke out.
Henson shared a tweet stating that developers shouldn't be dealing with abuse and toxicity from the community over a release date, something that managed to make the post go viral. Henson received many supportive messages from fellow game developers, especially because the topic has been important in the industry recently due to the situation regarding God of War: Ragnarok's release date. Ultimately, Hypercharge's success is also due to Digital Cybercherries advocating for mental health in an industry where this is often a stigma, and doing it at the right time.
"I released a statement, and at this time I hadn't realized what God of War developers and their studio were facing, and in my statement I was asking to please stop demanding an Xbox release date, stop sending threats, and also something about the mental health side of things for developers. That went viral, it blew up. I couldn't believe we had all these fans and this support."
Hypercharge is available on Nintendo Switch and PC. PlayStation and Xbox versions are in development.