How CloverPit Completely Beat Future Friends' Best-Case Predictions

CloverPit, an indie game by Panik Arcade and Future Friends Games, went up against Hades II, EA Sports FC 26, and Silent Hill f. It exceeded the publisher's best-case sales predictions by achieving over 750,000 sales. We spoke to CEO Thomas Reisenegger about this outstanding success.

Amidst major releases such as Hades II, EA Sports FC 26, Silent Hill f, Slime Rancher 2, and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, CloverPit from Panic Arcade, and Future Friends Games was released at the end of September 2025.  This 'roguelite slot machine nightmare' attracted over 25,000 concurrent players on Steam in this turbulent environment, and has now sold over 750,000 copies, as confirmed by Thomas Reisenegger, co-founder and CEO of Future Friends Games, in an interview with us. He also explains why the game was so well received, and reveals the marketing

GamesMarkt: Peaking at over 25,000 concurrent users, CloverPit was a resounding success for the two-person development team and publisher Future Friends Games. Why do you think the game was so well received?

Thomas Reisenegger: "In just two weeks after launch we're already at over 750,000 copies sold, which completely beat even our best-case predictions. I think the success comes down to a mix of things. Most importantly the game itself is great and fun but it's also really of the moment. It combines a lot of current trends, the balatro-style mechanics, light horror elements, and that nostalgic PS1 look. I think the clear, confident vision that the dev team had since the beginning combined with a short, focused dev cycle that helped it feel fresh. I think it’s just one of those projects where everything magically came together. It also works really well for streamers, which gave it a huge boost. We pushed hard on the marketing side, but like with any big hit, luck played a big role too."

GamesMarkt: Which marketing strategies proved particularly effective, given that the game performed so well in such a crowded market/release window?

Thomas Reisenegger: "I think the super strong start of the campaign made a huge difference. We announced the game during the Triple-I Showcase, a very prestigious indie event that got a full super crazy Steam front-page takeover, and that instantly pointed a ton of people towards CloverPit. We had a great trailer ready and an excellent demo, and that demo shot straight to the top of the Steam charts, which kicked off the snowball. So everything at the kick off just worked out perfectly well. The game also just works for content creators and social media, it's easy to clip, fun to react to, and naturally shareable."

"We also thought a lot about release timing. Originally we had to delay because Silksong was going to launch the day after us, which felt too risky and we had time on our hands. So we ended up pushing a few weeks (funnily enough the delay announcement went viral and got millions of views) and chose a Friday, which is usually a quieter day for Steam launches, and that definitely helped us stand out a bit more."

GamesMarkt: How important was it to make it clear that, despite dealing with and reflecting critically on gambling, the game is actually a horror game?

Thomas Reisenegger: "That was actually a really big part of the messaging. We made sure to say it clearly on the Steam page and email we sent. We owe a lot to Balatro for paving the way, players now understand that roguelikes can use gambling-style mechanics without being about gambling. There's no real-money aspect, the game has a proper ending, and it's all about building the right combos, not spending money."

GamesMarkt: How would you describe the current positioning of Future Friends Games' upcoming portfolio?

Thomas Reisenegger: "Our company motto has always been 'do things that make sense,' and I think our lineup really reflects that. We're not tied to any one genre but we prefer small flexible team sizes (often solo devs to up to 5-6 people teams). We are really just looking for fun games we personally enjoy, made by good people, that also make sense for the market. It keeps things fun and flexible for us too."

"Right now that means we've got a spread that includes a mini-roguelike set inside a slot machine (Slots & Daggers), a cozy co-working hangout game (On Together), and a hardcore rally game set in space (Exo Rally). So, quite the mix haha."

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