Be careful, however, we are speaking in terms of players, this time, not in copies sold, because Game Pass and PlayStation Plus subscribers have been included in the equation since launch. We can easily imagine that the awards received at the BAFTA 2023 and Game Awards 2023 will have generated a small burst of interest in this title readily inspired by Chrono Trigger, already benefiting from excellent word of mouth.
“[Sea of Stars] is the game of my dreams, and to see its quest resonate so deeply with so many players and critics is a great honor for the Sabotage team“, rejoiced CEO Thierry Boulanger. The co-founder recalls that the Throes of the Watchmaker extension is still in development. It will obviously focus around the Watchmaker, a genius inventor who will encounter yet another dilemma. not specified. Remember that Sea of Stars takes place in the same universe as the platform game The Messenger from the same studio and that it partially completes its story by telling us a little more about the mythology.
The Completionist scandal
Unfortunately, the Sabotage celebrations are marred by an unexpected controversy. Close to the studio, YouTuber Jirard “The Completionist” Khalil was recently accused of charity fraud by two other leading figures on the platform, the expert in speedrunning Karl Jobst and entertainment streamer Mutahar (SomeOrdinaryGamers). With the help of video extracts, tax notes and investigations, the two investigators showed that The Completionist organized charity streams, IndieLand, without ever donating anything to the associations.
Sabotage has often participated in IndieLand, in particular with an exclusive demo build of Sea of Stars in 2021. Jirard Khalil has even been immortalized in the form of the NPC Jirard the Builder, a construction worker in the town of Mirth. Since then, the Quebec studio has replaced their former partner with a generic character, Bob, who fulfills the same functions. “We have made this decision after carefully evaluating the situation over the past few weeks, and while we should not judge the matter, our priority is to preserve a positive and optimistic space that reflects our intentions (creative or otherwise).“, commented Sabotage. The Completionist had designated Sea of Stars as his game of the year.