The team behind a co-op game on Steam wanted to take a little vacation after the release. However, they sold over 1 million units in the first week and their game became a viral hit – which meant their break had to wait.
Which game is being talked about? It is the game PEAK by Aggro Crab and Landfall, which was released on Steam in summer 2025. At this point, the co-op climbing game, where you have to climb a mountain as a group of scouts on an island, has an “extremely positive” rating on Steam (96% of the 264,597 user reviews are positive).
With this success, the PEAK team did not expect during the surprisingly short development of only 4 months. After the launch, their plan was actually to enter “vacation mode,” as Nick Kaman, the head of Aggro Crab Studio, told GamesRadar. But when the team realized how high the demand for their co-op game was, they knew they couldn’t kick back just yet.
Here you can see the trailer for the co-op climbing game PEAK by Aggro Crab:
From the result of a game jam to a viral hit
Why did the developers have to do so much more work after the release? After the launch of PEAK and the rising popularity and recognition, the team knew that their work was just beginning.
PEAK is the result of a collaborative event known as a game jam. This is an event where a usually small team creates a game from scratch. Programmers, artists, and other developers then create a often simple but creative game in a set time (whether in days, weeks, or months). Just like PEAK.
When PEAK eventually became successful, the development team realized that they needed to address the poor polish resulting from the event.
The vacation had to wait. Instead, the team focused on fixing bugs to refine their game further. They placed great importance on ensuring that the “jam-like spirit” remained intact in PEAK.
What kind of co-op experience does PEAK offer? In PEAK, you have to climb a mountain as a group of colorful, lost scouts to be rescued from an island where they are stranded.
What sounds quite simple requires a lot of finesse and teamwork. A tiny mistake can cause you to fall and get separated from the group. Also, some dangerous ledges can only be crossed with the helping hand of a friend.
In line with this mission, the gameplay is supported by speech animations of the cute little characters in whose hiking boots you as a player step into. Players especially praise the fun and chaos that can be experienced as a group of friends, as well as the sense of achievement gained from the progress of their collective efforts.
The developers of PEAK did not lose their enjoyment of their own game despite the extra work on their game jam project. When it went viral on Twitch, they sneaked into the lobbies of playing streamers for a little fun: Developers create surprising hit on Steam, played by over 114,000 players – use their power and a plush toy to troll Twitch streamers
