Image via Mintrocket
Growing up, I kind of thought that there were only two kinds of what we now call cozy games: life sims a la The Sims and farming sims à la Harvest Moon. Then, I stumbled upon the wonderful world of management sims, and I’ve never looked back. If there’s one thing I love more than almost anything else, it’s a game that lets me run a restaurant. Unlocking new recipes, leveling up skills, and upgrading my space is just incredibly soothing to me. I’m always on the lookout for new management sims to try, so of course, I picked up Dave the Diver when it first arrived on Steam back in 2023. The game has come a long way since those early days, with new platforms and DLC adding to its audience. Now, Mintrocket is celebrating a pretty big Dave the Diver milestone: 10,000,000 copies sold. And that’s kind of just the beginning.
On September 8th, the official Dave the Diver social media account shared the news that the management sim/RPG hybrid hit 10 million copies. That’s no small feat, especially for a game that’s got kind of a unique premise. Even if it took 3 years to get there, it’s clear that Dave the Diver has really struck something special. Now, several platforms later, the game is swimming into uncharted territory once more with its mobile port. I won’t be the least bit surprised if Mintrocket has a new milestone to share soon after that version releases on September 17th. Here’s why.
Dave the Diver Delivers a Formula that Works, and It Keeps Getting Better
When it was released in 2023, Dave the Diver quickly proved its unique spin on the management sim formula worked. It jumped up to nearly 100K concurrent players on Steam during its first month. Since then, Mintrocket has brought the management sim to several new platforms, where it found new fans. You can now play Dave the Diver on PC, Nintendo Switch & Switch 2, PS4 and PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. In other words, Dave and the Bancho Sushi crew are available on most major platforms. That’s no doubt part of what has driven the game’s impressive sales numbers, as Dave picks up new employees on each new platform. But more than those expansions to new consoles, I think Mintrocket’s continued willingness to play around with the formula has made Dave the Diver a runaway hit.
At its core, the game combines two playstyles. By day, you dive into the depths for an action RPG adventure where you battle and catch fish. By night, you serve those fish in your restaurant. There’s all the goodness of unlocking new recipes, leveling up your restaurant, and improving your skills. But Mintrocket didn’t stop there. The game has seen several smaller DLCs that add new characters and collabs to its universe. But the recent In the Jungle expansion blew them all out of the water. This add-on gives Dave a whole new area to roam, expanding the unique gameplay loop even more. In the jungle, the management sim basically adds in familiar farming sim components as well. I’m talking befriending villagers, completing quests, and gathering resources on land as well as undersea.
Now, as the team celebrates its sales milestone, Dave the Diver is about to swim into new territory once more. The mobile port of the hit management sim is set to release for iOS and Android devices on September 17th. It’s intended to be a robust, mobile port of the full game experience, optimized for handheld devices. Several of the game’s DLC packs will be available right alongside the base game, including my beloved In The Jungle expansion. Rather than a mobile spin-off, this is a full version of the game in the palm of your hand. And if I know my fellow cozy gamers as well as I think I do, the mobile release is going to send those Dave the Diver sales numbers to new heights. Now if you’ll excuse me, writing this article made me realize I really need to play through at least a few days of my Nintendo Switch 2 save for Dave the Diver before I can continue about my day.
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