Mewgenics has topped the Steam charts and has already recouped its development costs.

2026 is less than two months old, and it's already expected to be a year of obscure indie hits like 2025. The latest evidence for this is Mewgenics. Mewgenics set the pace for one of the best-reviewed games of the year, selling so well on launch day that it's already recouped its development costs.

Mewgenics recouped its development costs in about three hours after launch.

Mewgenics creators Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel spoke with IGN on the game's launch day and revealed that the indie hit broke within hours of its release. “So far, this is significantly exceeding our expectations,” Glaiel confirmed, adding that Mewgenics sold enough copies within three hours to probably pay for the entire development cycle.

The statistics become even more impressive when you realize that Glaiel and McMillen have been developing the game for seven years.

If you've checked out Steam's best-selling games since Mewgenics launched on Tuesday, you'll know that it was an immediate hit. Hours later, the game is still the best-selling game on the platform, beating out Arc Raiders, Helldivers 2, which has seen a surge in popularity thanks to its latest update, and even Overwatch, which broke its concurrent player record after dropping 2.

Mewgenics are set to break all records set by Binding Of Isaac.

McMillen has experience with popular indie games, including creating Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac. But even Isaac, which McMillen believes sold around 40,000 copies on release day, cannot compare to the immediate popularity experienced by Mewgenics.

Guillotina holding a small cat close to her body just before violently eating it in Mewgenics.

McMillen told IGN that Mewgenics 152,000 copies sold in 5 hours and 30 minutes of release. Not only is this nearly four times what Isaac managed during opening day, but more than three-quarters of Mewgenics' first day is still left. It's been a few hours since McMillen cited those numbers, so it's unclear as of now just how high his and Glaiel's new game has reached.

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The creator of Binding Of Isaac has promised that his critically acclaimed new game will take more than 500 hours to get to 100%.

Edmund McMillen is very confident in the depth of Mewgenics.

Isaac still has a thing for Mewgenics when it comes to raw numbers. McMillen's previous game peaked at over 70,000 players in 2021, according to SteamDB. But considering how well Mewgenics sold in the first few hours, it's only a matter of time before it sets that record. It peaked at just under 66,000 on launch day.

Mugenics is not only selling well but also getting good reviews. With a score of 89, it is currently the highest rated game of the year. The crown was taken from the Hermit and Pig, and eventually dethroned Cairn. Because, as I said, 2026 is six weeks away, and there are already strong indicators that it's going to be an even bigger year for hit indies than 2025.