Outlast team originally couldn't find anyone to invest in their game, franchise now sits at 15 million sold

Red Barrels had a very tough time bringing Outlast to the market. They poured a ton of blood, sweat and tears into the game, but couldn't find anyone out there to believe in the title. Funds for the developer were running low, which meant time to actually find someone to back the game was running short. Red Barrels' Philippe Morin recalls the situation in an interview with GamesIndustry.

"We couldn't find anybody to invest. We searched for 18 months. We were 18 months without a salary, except for little contracts here and there. On the VC side, it was still the mobile bubble. The thing we were hearing the most was that they'd rather invest $50,000 in ten projects than $500,000 in us. Maybe on that side there was a lack of knowledge or understanding in terms of the [console] industry."

The saving play came from the Canada Media Fund, which ended up bringing in just over a million dollars for the game, and helpd get it out the door. The rest is history, as they say. The Outlast franchise now sits at 15 million sold, making it one of the most popular indie brands on the market. Looks like the Canada Media Fund made the right choice!