Vermintide 2 made more money in its first two weeks than the original ever has

Co-op hack-and-slasher Warhammer: Vermintide 2's excellent combat and clever level design are translating into commercial success: the game has generated more revenue in the two weeks since it released than the original Vermintide has made in its lifetime, according to the chief executive of developer Fatshark, Martin Wahlund.

"Right now, we have outsold, in terms of revenue, the lifetime revenue of the original Vermintide, and on PC only," he told PCGamesInsider.biz (the game is yet to come out on consoles). Wahlund attributed the success to the support of the original's fan base alongside the fact that the sequel is simply a better game.

"If you do a follow-up to a game that was quite successful, which the first one was, you have the old audience, who come back and vouch for it, which gives you a headstart. So word of mouth spreads," he said. "It's also a much better game. We learnt a lot about giving people something to strive for. We have a different system by which players can get stuff. The core of the game is just better."

Whether or not it's a better game than the original is a matter for debate. It's by no means perfect, with bad matchmaking and some questionable design decisions around player progression. But, as Steven wrote in his review, the thrill of its combat more than makes up for those missteps. It will get even better later this month when Steam Workshop support arrives.

It's $30/£23 on Steam and the Humble Store, but you can pick it up for around 20% less in the Fanatical Spring Sale. Remember to enter code 'Spring10' for a further 10% off at checkout.

If you're interested in the first game, then that's cheap on Fanatical, too. Ian's review is this-a-way.

Samuel is a freelance journalist and editor who first wrote for PC Gamer nearly a decade ago. Since then he's had stints as a VR specialist, mouse reviewer, and previewer of promising indie games, and is now regularly writing about Fortnite. What he loves most is longer form, interview-led reporting, whether that's Ken Levine on the one phone call that saved his studio, Tim Schafer on a milkman joke that inspired Psychonauts' best level, or historians on what Anno 1800 gets wrong about colonialism. He's based in London.