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In an insightful new blog post, Yacht Club Games reflects on the success of its retro-style platform game, Shovel Knight.

Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Shovel Knight was released on Wii U, 3DS, and Windows in June 2014. It eventually came to every other viable platform, including Linux, Mac, Switch, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, and Amazon Fire TV. The hard work evidently paid off, with Yacht Club saying the game has now sold over 2.5 million copies.

Shovel Knight’s success is due, in part, to the continual support it has received. Two substantial expansions added new playable characters, new gameplay mechanics, and a co-op mode. And a third expansion, King of Cards, is due for release later this year.

The character of Shovel Knight has become a firm fixture of the video game landscape, making guest appearances in a slew of other titles, including Runbow, Riverbond, Rivals of Aether, Blaster Master Zero, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, to name just a few. Most notably, the ‘Blue Burrower’ also features as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros Ultimate, and even became an amiibo.

And it’s not just video games. A competitive miniatures board game, Shovel Knight: Dungeon Duels, is now in development at Panda Cult, with a crowd funding drive on Kickstarter launching this week.

The full blog post features a ton of development screenshots, concept art, and anecdotes from the Yacht Club team. Take a look.


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