Stranger Things video game release - what's next? - Dispatch Weekly

On October the 4th, BonusXP, in collaboration with Netflix released Stranger Things: The Game.

The mobile game is to accompany the release of its second season of the hit online series, out later this month. Launching on both the iTunes AppStore and Google Play Store, this free mobile app has had a tremendous first week, achieving an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 from over 12,000 reviewers.

The mobile app has been hailed by critics as being “totally free”, with zero possibility for in-app purchases that has become a staple of the free app business model. The game also includes over 10 hours of gameplay to full completion, making it more like an arcade or small console game than a traditional mobile app.

An exclusive from David Pottinger, President and game Director at BonusXP, he said, “I think the release of Stranger Things: The Games has wildly exceeded our expectations. We knew the show was popular. We had ideas that the game was pretty good. But, the fan reaction has been astounding. We’re very happy that people enjoy the game so much.”

It often proves very difficult to remain true to the source material whilst crafting your own vision, but the Stranger Things game has resonated with fans of the series, managing to capture the atmosphere of Hawkins, whilst providing a new experience for players.

When speaking on this matter the company, Pottinger said, “I think we used the rich world the Duffers built as an advantage. We had so much good source material to work with. We were dying to just play in the universe and tell some fun stories. We always get asked about whether it is difficult to work with someone else’s franchise, but it certainly was not in this case. Netflix and the Duffers were great; they wanted the game to be awesome as much as we did.”

BonusXP will continue to create opportunities for future collaborations, with the chance for Netflix’s original programs to be incarnated as mobile apps and games. Speaking to Pottinger about potential future collaborations with Netflix, he went on to say, “I don’t think we looked at the project that way. We are extreme fans of the show. This was a labor of love. We had been wanting to make a Zelda-style adventure for a long time. I’m sure we’ll look at doing similar games in the future, but right now, we’re focused on supporting this one. We have an update that will hit when Season 2 is released; we’re excited to get that into fans’ hands.”

The second season of Stranger Things will be released on Netflix on the 27^th of October.

BonusXP is a small producer of games from Allen, Texas. The firm recently grew to just over 30 employees from 3 very experienced founders. Members of the team have experience working on epic shooters like Borderlands and granular strategy games such as Age of Empires.