An overall positive reception of 38 Studio's latest release Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning may signal a potential sequel for a budding franchise. Fans have already praised Kingdoms for its integration of RPG and battle action styled gameplay.
According to Ian Frazier, lead designer for Kingdoms, the company would love to proceed with creating Kingdoms of Amalur 2.
"[A sequel] is certainly something we would love to do...Obviously it needs to succeed well enough to justify that. But we would love to do that... It comes down to units sold at the end of the day, but it's complicated," said Frazier.
Since the game is fresh off of its release, statistics from the sales along with reviews will determine the fate of Kingdoms future. Certain companies such as EA, Kingdom's current publisher, may not just look into the sales figure but also at the overall reception before approving a sequel.
"If the game doesn't sell that many copies but the critical reception is really good, then our publisher might be like, well, it was the first in a new franchise, we're going to take a bet and sign you up for another one. If the sales are really good you're pretty much set no matter what. There's a pretty big sliding scale there, added Frazier."
Kingdoms may be benefitting from current reviews but challenges remain as it competes with other big titles released in early February. Games such as Soul Calibur V, Final Fantasy XIII 2, The Darkness 2, and Jak and Daxter have also posted fairly good reviews. The gaming industry as a whole will work to raise game sales as January's results have shown a 34% decrease from a year earlier.
If Kingdoms can generate positive sales and reviews, an Amalur 2 title will most likely be guaranteed for release.
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