Peak went from a canceled game that couldn't get funding to selling millions on Steam

The unlikely story behind Peak, the hot Steam game that’s sold millions | Polygon

The slapstick survival co-op game was born after a game cancelation almost made the developers completely burn out

polygon.com

After burning out on a long, underfunded sequel to Going Under, indie studio Aggro Crab teamed up with Landfall Games for a month-long jam in Korea. Locked in an Airbnb, they sketched out a goofy co-op “slapstick survival” climber called Peak—coffee runs by day, playtests and pizza by night—and nailed down core mechanics in just weeks.

Released quietly on Steam for $8 on June 16, Peak exploded into a meme-fueled hit, selling over a million copies in its first week as streamers and YouTubers fell for its procedurally generated mountains and chaotic co-op shenanigans. Despite server meltdowns and a patch that broke more than it fixed, the devs are now all-in on new content, riding high on their surprise smash.