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

Aggro Crab hit a wall after spending three years on Another Crab’s Treasure and watching its sequel prototype lose funding and momentum. To shake off the burnout, they teamed up with Landfall Games for a month-long jam in a Korean Airbnb, armed with hardly more than coffee, IKEA furniture and a goofy idea for a slapstick co-op climber. What started as a fun diversion—nicknamed Peak over a dinner joke—quickly morphed into a full game built around procedurally generated mountains, stamina-based climbing and mischievous multiplayer shenanigans.

Launched quietly for just $8, Peak blew past all expectations by selling a million copies in its first week, thanks to its meme-ready name, addictive ascending puzzles and hilarious player interactions. Now the studios are racing to keep up with server overloads, patch bugs (and occasionally break the game again), and plan fresh content for a title that was never meant to be more than a creative palate-cleanser.