Planet Centauri: A Decade of Development, Two Crucial Missed Opportunities, and the Unyielding Spirit of Indie Devs

Planet Centauri: How Misfortune Stole the Spotlight from a Promising Indie Gem

Indie games often live or die by visibility. For Planet Centauri, a sandbox adventure game blending elements of Starbound and Pokémon, the journey has been a decade-long labor of love—and a heartbreaking series of missed opportunities.

Developed by a two-person French team, Planet Centauri finally left Early Access in December 2024, poised to become a breakout hit. With over 138,000 Steam wishlists, the game seemed destined for success. Yet, a perfect storm of bad luck and technical errors left it struggling to find an audience.

The First Blow: Steam’s Wishlist Glitch

When Planet Centauri officially launched, the developers expected a surge of visibility from Steam’s "Popular New Releases" section. Instead, they were met with silence.

As it turned out, Valve later confirmed a system error: wishlist notifications for the game were never sent to potential buyers. This single glitch cost Planet Centauri its crucial debut momentum. Without these notifications, the game failed to rank in Steam’s algorithm-driven discovery queues, effectively rendering it invisible at launch.

A Second Chance Thwarted by Fate

To make up for the error, Valve offered the developers a "Daily Deal" feature—a prime opportunity for front-page promotion. The team randomly selected November 12 as their sale date, hoping to finally capture the audience they deserved.

But fate had other plans.

On that very day, Valve announced its new hardware lineup: the Steam Machine, a redesigned controller, and VR headsets. The entire Steam homepage was dominated by the product launch, burying Planet Centauri’s promotion under layers of hardware hype.

Laurent Lechat, one of the developers, reflected on the misfortune:

"We picked the date at random. Valve couldn’t have warned us about their hardware announcement—it was just incredibly bad luck."

The Silver Lining: Survival Against the Odds

Despite the setbacks, the Daily Deal still managed to generate around 5,000 sales—far below expectations but enough to sustain the small team for another year. For Lechat and his partner, this means a chance to continue refining the game and engaging with their community.

Lessons from the Trenches

Planet Centauri’s story highlights the fragility of indie game development in an algorithm-driven marketplace. Even with a solid game and a dedicated fanbase, external factors can derail success. Yet, it also showcases resilience: the determination to keep creating, even when luck isn’t on your side.