By Published Oct 21, 2026, 9:10 AM EDT In today's generation, breaking even on a video game takes a long time due to massive marketing and development costs. The soulslike genre targets a specific player base, and competing in this subgenre can be difficult, but the new Napoleonic soulslike Valor Mortis is already making waves in the industry. Despite straying from the traditional, third-person soulslike experience, Valor Mortis has officially reached the break-even point, resulting in profits a week after its release.

The team also created the critically acclaimed first-person action game Ghostrunner, and their experimental gamble with a soulslike has finally paid off; One More Level appears to have found a way to give its new project a promising financial run. Valor Mortis Has Reached Its First Major Milestone According to One More Level’s announcement on X, Valor Mortis has reached the break-even point in just seven days. It’s a massive achievement for the developers, as the soulslike sub-genre has hardly been short on competition ever since the release of Elden Ring.

This sub-genre is gradually becoming saturated, and it is hard to keep a player interested, as the games need a proper hook, but One More Level proved that their excellence goes beyond fast-paced action games. While Valor Mortis has reached a major milestone, it’s crucial to understand that there’s a huge difference between breaking even and turning a massive profit. According to the company’s financial announcement, it has exceeded the development, sales, and marketing costs included in its publishing deal with Lyrical Games for Valor Mortis.

Additionally, One More Level is scheduled to receive its first royalty payments in the first quarter of 2027, but most of it will be used to pay the settlement schedules and commercial partners. Basically, the developers have crossed an important threshold to keep their business thriving, but they won’t immediately receive the money in their accounts.

Still, breaking even within a week of the game’s launch is a promising development, which will serve as solid evidence of Valor Mortis’ success, providing the studio with a head start in the upcoming months—we may even receive a DLC earlier than expected if the sales keep this pace. What’s Next For One More Level’s Napoleonic Soulslike? The next challenge for One More Level is to maintain the sales momentum in the upcoming months. If you aren’t following the game, Valor Mortis is a first-person soulslike, and its setting is the best-selling point that lets the game shine through its weaknesses—not everything is perfect, after all.

The developers are already experienced with the first-person action setting thanks to Ghostrunner, and Valor Mortis’ success adds another experimental win to their catalog. Obviously, this strong first week for the game is essential to grab further, valuable attention, but continued sales and player engagement will be the judge of how far Valor Mortis will go.

According to the publishing deal, One More Level disclosed an amendment to its publishing agreement under which its co-publisher will provide further funds for the game’s development, including a paid DLC in the near future. One More Level is scheduled to receive its first royalty payments in the first quarter of 2027, but most of it will be used to pay the settlement schedules and commercial partners. Still, the additional development costs will affect the revenue available for the company, which is why the future content shouldn’t be treated as pure profit. It definitely gives fans something to look forward to, and if Valor Mortis continues to make waves like this, its additional content will help to expand the game’s world.

The next challenge for One More Level is to maintain the sales momentum in the upcoming months. All in all, One More Level has a good reason to celebrate—not every developer can break even this easily.

However, we can’t really determine whether the game will become a major name in the soulslike subgenre.

For that, the fan base will have to wait a few months and see where the road leads One More Level to while waiting for the upcoming DLC.