In February 2025, seven developers locked themselves into an Airbnb in Hongdae, Seoul with nothing but laptops, determination, and what they later described as a refusal to leave until they’d made something great. A month later, Peak launched on Steam. By August, it had sold 11 million copies, generated an estimated $56 million in revenue, and broken nearly every indie success metric that exists. All from a game that cost less than $200,000 to make.
This isn’t a typical overnight success story. Peak is a masterclass in agile game development, creative collaboration, and what happens when two of indie gaming’s most respected studios decide to make something together out of pure jealousy and competition.
How Everything Started in a Hot Tub
The origin story of Peak is delightfully weird. Caelan Rashby-Pollock, creative director at Aggro Crab, came up with the initial concept while sitting in a hot tub in Sweden about a year before development actually started. The concept was vague at first, something about open-world survival, but the core idea was there. A year later, that casual hot tub thought would become one of 2025’s biggest gaming phenomena.
But Peak didn’t happen because some studio executive decided to greenlight a project. It happened because Nick Kaman, founder of Aggro Crab, got jealous. In early 2025, when Kaman learned that Landfall had created Content Warning, a massive viral hit, in just one month, he thought his studio should try something similar. Content Warning blew up bigger and faster than Aggro Crab’s recent game Another Crab’s Treasure, even though Another Crab’s Treasure was a 3+ year project that had burned out much of the Aggro Crab team.
Kaman texted Landfall with a simple proposal: what if we work together and see what we can create in a month? The response was immediate and enthusiastic. By February, three developers from Aggro Crab and four from Landfall were boarding flights to Seoul.
One Month in Korea Changed Everything
The actual intensive development of Peak took place during a single month-long game jam in a Seoul Airbnb. Kaman describes it perfectly: basically every waking moment was either working on Peak or discussing Peak over Korean BBQ and soju. When disagreements arose during the Discord planning phase before they flew out, miscommunication was rampant. But the moment everyone got into the same room in Korea, things clicked.
There was even a memorable moment where they realized text-based communication was sabotaging their collaboration. As Kaman put it, they started saying “text is evil” whenever someone misunderstood a Discord message. Once they switched to face-to-face collaboration, the creative direction solidified almost immediately. The game became clear: free-form climbing mechanics, lost scouts on an island, managing stamina as an affliction mechanic, and a focus on the slapstick humor that emerges from cooperative chaos.
The budget for this month-long lockdown was surprisingly minimal. Kaman estimates they spent less than $200,000 total. That covered salaries for the month they were in Korea plus flights, the Airbnb, and food. For context, many indie games that sell a fraction of Peak’s copies cost millions to develop. Peak proved that with the right team, the right idea, and the right collaboration, you don’t need massive budgets to create something extraordinary.
After returning home, both studios continued polishing Peak at a slower pace for a few more months. The intensive production window was that one month in Korea. Everything else was refinement and bug fixes leading up to the June 16 launch.
From June Launch to 11 Million Sales
Peak launched on Steam on June 16, 2025 at a price point between $5 and $8. The game sold one million copies in its first week. Within nine days, it had crossed two million copies sold. By July 7, just three weeks after launch, Peak had sold 4.5 million copies. These numbers were completely shattering expectations.
The game’s momentum never slowed. In early August, when Aggro Crab and Landfall dropped a discount to $4.95 and released the Mesa biome update, sales exploded. The game moved 1.7 million copies in a single week. By August 17, Peak had reached 171,000 concurrent players on Steam and was sitting with 1.3 million daily active users. The game had become a genuine cultural phenomenon.
By August 20, Peak officially crossed 10 million copies sold, confirmed by analyst Rhys Elliott and announced onstage by Geoff Keighley at Gamescom Opening Night Live. Shortly after, the game surpassed 11 million copies. Analytics firm Alinea Analytics estimated the game’s total revenue at over $55 million based on sales figures and average pricing.
Put this in perspective: Peak generated more revenue in three months than most indie studios make in a decade. All from a team that spent less than $200,000 on development and locked themselves in Korea for a month.
What Actually Is Peak
If you somehow missed Peak completely, here’s what you’ve been watching people stream endlessly. Peak is a cooperative mountain-climbing game where up to four players control stranded nature scouts trying to escape a mysterious island by reaching the mountain summit. It’s free-form climbing that requires managing your stamina as an affliction mechanic.
The game includes proximity-based voice chat, which means you hear your teammates’ voices based on how close they are to you in-game. Combined with goofy character models and the inherent chaos of four people trying to coordinate climbing mechanics, this creates hilarious moments that feel completely organic. You’re not watching scripted comedy, you’re creating it through emergent gameplay.
Players face various obstacles including treacherous terrain, weather elements, poisonous plants, and environmental hazards. The game has multiple biomes now including a desert added in the August update. Despite its simplicity on the surface, Peak has surprising depth in terms of build variety, character customization, and challenge scaling.
The game’s appeal ultimately comes down to one thing: it’s goofy, accessible, affordable, and genuinely fun with friends. It scratched an itch in the market that other games weren’t addressing.
Why Aggro Crab Is Not Doing a Peak 2
Here’s where the story gets interesting. In recent interviews, Aggro Crab and Landfall made a deliberate choice that shocked some observers. Despite Peak’s massive success, both studios announced they have no plans to expand the game significantly or create a sequel. They’re not chasing that graphing up trend.
Nick Kaman and the teams are instead focused on their next projects. Aggro Crab is developing Crashout Crew, their next game, and Landfall is pursuing other ideas. When asked about Peak’s future in interviews, Kaman was clear: they’re providing bug fixes and support, but the game is essentially complete as a standalone experience.
This decision reflects something important that many major gaming companies refuse to learn. Not every success needs to be milked endlessly. Not every hit needs a sequel, DLC roadmap, and expansion plans. Sometimes a game can be perfect exactly as it is, and the best move is to move on to the next creative challenge rather than chase diminishing returns.
This attitude actually respects the players and the original vision more than aggressive monetization ever could. Peak doesn’t have battle passes, cosmetic stores, or seasonal content designed to keep players hooked and spending indefinitely. It’s a complete game that you buy once and own forever.
The Broader Lesson Here
Peak’s success story challenges several assumptions about game development. You don’t need massive budgets. You don’t need years of development. You don’t need teams of hundreds. You need the right people, a clear vision, collaborative chemistry, and a willingness to lock yourself away and focus completely on making something great.
The developers noted that having experienced teams from both studios was crucial. Kaman mentioned that hiring 20+ people after Peak’s success would have completely broken the culture and agility that made the game work. Instead, they’re scaling their next projects differently, keeping teams small and focused.
There’s also a lesson about sustainable development. Aggro Crab had recently gone through developer burnout on Another Crab’s Treasure. Peak’s month-long intensive sprint actually felt more sustainable because everyone knew it had an endpoint. The bounded timeframe meant they could push hard without the indefinite crunch that longer projects can become.
For the game industry as a whole, Peak represents hope. It shows that you don’t need to be a massive AAA studio with a $200 million budget to create something that captures the world’s attention. An indie team with a great idea, strong collaboration, and focused execution can absolutely compete for cultural mindshare against anything the big publishers release.
FAQs
How many copies of Peak has been sold?
Peak has sold over 11 million copies as of late October 2025. It’s the second biggest indie game release on Steam in 2025, behind only R.E.P.O. which has sold 16.8 million copies.
How much did Peak cost to make?
According to Nick Kaman from Aggro Crab, the entire production cost less than $200,000. This covered salaries for the month in Korea, flights, the Airbnb, and food for seven developers.
How long did it take to develop Peak?
The intensive development took one month in February 2025 in a Seoul Airbnb. Both teams then spent a few more months polishing and fixing bugs after returning home, with the game launching on June 16, 2025.
Who developed Peak?
Peak was developed as a collaboration between Aggro Crab (developers of Another Crab’s Treasure) and Landfall (developers of Content Warning). Three developers from Aggro Crab and four from Landfall worked on the project together in Korea.
How much revenue did Peak generate?
Analytics firm Alinea Analytics estimated Peak’s total revenue at over $55 million based on 11 million copies sold at an average price point of around $5-$8 per copy.
Is there a Peak 2 in development?
No. Both Aggro Crab and Landfall have stated there are no plans to significantly expand Peak or create a sequel. Both studios are focused on their next projects instead. Peak receives bug fixes and support but won’t be getting major new content.
What is Peak actually about?
Peak is a cooperative mountain-climbing game where up to four players control stranded nature scouts trying to reach the summit of a mountain and escape a mysterious island. It features free-form climbing mechanics, proximity-based voice chat, and goofy emergent humor.
How much does Peak cost?
Peak is priced at $7.99 on Steam, though it frequently goes on sale for $4.95 or similar discounts. Given that it’s a complete game with no ongoing monetization, the price point is considered extremely reasonable for the value.
What’s Aggro Crab working on next?
Aggro Crab is developing Crashout Crew as their next title. The team specifically mentioned they’re not chasing continuous growth but rather focusing on making another great game.
Why didn’t they make Peak longer or add more content?
According to the developers, the philosophy is that not every success needs to be expanded endlessly. They believe Peak is complete as a vision and that moving on to new creative challenges is more important than milking the franchise for additional revenue.
The Bottom Line
Peak’s journey from a hot tub idea to an 11 million-copy phenomenon represents something the gaming industry desperately needs to see more of. It proves that small, focused teams can create cultural phenomena. It shows that complete games without aggressive monetization can be phenomenal successes. It demonstrates that collaborative creativity, bounded timelines, and focused execution can outperform massive budgets and years of development hell. Most importantly, it proves that you don’t need to burn yourself out to build something that resonates with the world. A month in Korea, under $200K, and seven developers willing to lock in completely created a legacy that will influence indie game development for years to come.