In 2014, Yacht Club Games struck gold with the studio's debut game, Shovel Knight. However, since then, the studio hasn't reached the same heights, releasing a string of Shovel Knight spin-offs that never quite reached the same level of popularity.

That is, until Mina the Hollower. Studio head Cris Velasco revealed earlier this year that the Game Boy-inspired action-adventure was essentially 'make or break' for the studio, and would need to sell at least 200,000 copies for the studio to survive.

"It's make or break for sure," Velasco said. "If we sold 500,000 copies, then we would be golden. If we sold even 200,000, that would be really great. If we sold, like, 100,000, that's not so good."

Velasco anticipated that if the game were to flop, they'd need to raise money elsewhere to keep the studio chugging along. After all, paying salaries isn't cheap, and 12 years is a long time to wait between hits. Thankfully, that worst-case scenario has not come to pass.

Mina the Hollower Is A Massive Success

Mina the Hollower sold 300,000 copies within the first three days of its release, which, despite being shy of the "golden" 500,000 mark, has secured the future of the studio. No doubt the positive reception will ensure Mina the Hollower has a long commercial tail, meaning the game will continue to sell in the coming months and years.

The game is currently tied with Forza Horizon 6 for the top-rated game of 2026 on Metacritic, high praise for a game in a genre that doesn't quite have mainstream appeal.

Related

Mina The Hollower Smashed Shovel Knight's Record Player Count The Second It Launched

There are already more people playing Mina on Steam at the same time than there ever were playing Shovel Knight.

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Our own Joshua Robertson loved Mina the Hollower, awarding it a perfect 5/5 score. In his review, he wrote, "Mina the Hollower is an almost faultless game that combines elements of nostalgic classics we know and love with a healthy dose of Yacht Club's flair and expertise to make it something that truly stands out as a retro-inspired masterpiece. I could honestly play it forever, with Yacht Club proving that it's not just a one game studio with yet another bonafide classic."

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Mina the Hollower is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

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Mina the Hollower

Platformer Action Adventure Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 92/100 Critics Rec: 99% Released May 29, 2026 ESRB Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence Developer(s) Yacht Club Games Publisher(s) Yacht Club Games
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
Genre(s) Platformer, Action, Adventure Powered by Expand Collapse