Horror game Iron Lung sales rise amid Titanic submersible search, devs say it "feels so wrong"

Indie horror game Iron Lung saw a huge spike in sales recently due to the real-life ongoing story of the missing Titanic submersible.

The OceanGate Titan submersible takes guests down to the wreck of the Titanic, which sits on the ocean floor at around 12,500ft below the surface. Last Sunday, the watercraft went down with five passengers, but went radio-silent around an hour after its departure time, leading to a frantic search for the missing vehicle. It’s believed the vehicle only has around four days of oxygen, meaning today will be crucial in determining the outcome of this horrific story.

In what seems to be a direct result of the news coverage, the horror game Iron Lung has since seen an increase in sales, likely due to the similarities between the game and real-life events.

This feels so wrong pic.twitter.com/SMAKC6sOfH

— David Szymanski (@DUSKdev) June 21, 2023

Iron Lung sees the player enter a hastily put together submarine (called the Iron Lung), which is welded shut from the outside. They’re then dropped into a deep, dark ocean of blood with the objective of photographing certain parts of the ocean floor. There are no windows, with the only way of seeing outside being the still images that flash up on the screen when a picture is taken.

The horror game saw a huge spike in popularity after it was played by several famous YouTubers like Pyrocynical and Markiplier, who recently announced that they would be adapting the game’s story into a movie.

Many people have drawn similarities between the game and the harrowing situation the missing people are currently experiencing. The game’s creator, David Szymanski, shared the latest sales numbers on Twitter, which have increased significantly over the last few days. Szymanski said, "I definitely see the dark humour in this whole Titanic sub thing, it's just... like, I made Iron Lung the most nightmarish thing I could think of, and knowing real people are in that situation right now is pretty horrific, even if it was their own bad decisions.”

Of the increased sales, Szymanski later added "It feels so wrong." The search for the OceanGate watercraft remain ongoing.