Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Sold Out in India Despite No Official Launch

Activision may have decided against bringing action-adventure game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice to India, but that hasn't stopped avid gamers from getting their hands on the game from Dark Souls and Bloodborne creator From Software. Several parallel importers and game retailers speaking to Gadgets 360 have confirmed that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice for PS4 and Xbox One has sold out in the country with demand as high as it was at launch. Game stores appear to be struggling to meet demand for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice on both consoles.

"Our first lot sold out in two days," a parallel importer tells us on condition of anonymity. "Second and third lots sold out as fast. We usually try to source stock from Hong Kong or UAE, but now we're looking beyond that due to demand."

Another indicator of the game's success, insiders tell us, is its current price in India which is higher than it was at launch.  The Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice price in India at launch was around Rs. 3,999. A quick check on Amazon and independent game store Mcube Games shows off a much higher price tag of Rs. 4,499 and Rs. 4,299 respectively.

"We estimate around 2,000 to 2,500 units of the game have already been sold in grey alone in the first week, and it's tracking better than Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne," claims a local sub distributor who did not want to be named. "It could have been a lot more if Activision got its act together."

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice skipped a physical release in India due to publisher Activision's inability to match the price of the game digitally on PS Store, Microsoft Store, and Steam where it sell for Rs. 3,999.

Developed by Bloodborne and Dark Souls studio From Software, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice joins the ranks of Dead Rising 4 for Xbox One, Persona 5, and PS4-exclusive Ratchet and Clank in avoiding an Indian release officially. Activision's distributor, WW CDROM confirmed this to Gadgets 360 after retailers had tipped us off on Sekiro missing its physical release.

Considering that past Activision-published releases like Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 were priced significantly more at retail versus digital, it makes us wonder why it isn't able to allow for fair pricing across both digital and physical product.

If the likes of Ubisoft, Warner Bros, Rockstar, and Take Two are able to offer equal end user prices for games on disc or cartridge as well as digital download, it's odd that Activision cannot commit to the same standards.

All of this makes Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice the rare game that's sold out in India despite Activision's reluctance to bring it in. It's a situation that's not unlike Yakuza 0 selling out in the country due to limited stocks and the distributor not being able to anticipate the consumer demand for that game, which was quickly rectified. It will be interesting to see if Sekiro gets an official release anytime soon considering how well it's doing even without Activision profiting directly from it.

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