“Indie Video Game ‘Papers, Please’ Reaches 5 Million Copies Sold”
Papers, Please, the captivating and emotionally charged “dystopian document thriller,” has reached its ten-year anniversary and achieved a remarkable milestone of selling five million copies across various platforms over the past decade. To commemorate this achievement, Lucas Pope, the developer, and his company 3909 LLC have launched a web game called LCD, Please, which enables players to experience certain elements of the original game.
Just like a real LCD game, Please tasks you with accepting or rejecting passport and transit requests. As the name suggests, the graphics style emulates past portable LCD devices such as Nintendo’s Game & Watch series. The sound is monotonous, the controls are simple, and the gameplay is addictive, making it a great way to accidentally waste a few minutes during your work day.
The online game isn’t the only way the developer is celebrating the success of Papers, Please. There’s also an official soundtrack now available on Spotify and Apple Music, a developer log with insider information about the game’s original pitch, and a store selling related merchandise. In the latter, you can pick up posters, shirts, stickers and more.
Since the game was first released in 2013, Papers, Please has been released on more than 40 platforms, according to the developer. The title was most recently released for Android and iOS devices last year. The game’s success also inspired a short film, which was well received and praised for capturing the spirit of the source material. After Papers, Please, developer Lucas Pope has created the maritime whodunnit Return of the Obra Dinn.
