Q2 demonstrated once again the strength of our back catalog, which grew 8% year-on-year despite a high comparison base. This performance was broad-based and reflected the depth and the strength of our portfolio. While Space Marine 2 remained solid in Q2, it started the third quarter on an even stronger footing with the launch in early October of its third year of live support. This includes a new siege mode spin-off, new progression mechanics, weapons, armor pieces, and the first two DLCs for Season Pass 3. Player reactions to the update has been very strong, with the title ranking amongst Steam's top five sellers on the day of release and remaining in the top 10 for several days, driving a new cycle of acquisition and engagement. Space Marine 2 had its best week on record on Steam since October 2024 in terms of weekly active users.
It has now reached 15 million unique players worldwide. This confirms the enduring strength of the Space Marine franchise and reinforces our long-term confidence in the upcoming Space Marine 3. Despite 92% positive review on Steam, the release of Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy has not been as dynamic as anticipated. Resonance is a spin-off centered on a new character and is more action-adventure oriented than the first two episodes. This expanded the franchise's appeal and attracted new players, notably on consoles, but it did not fully resonate with some of its traditional audience. Strong players rating should support positive word of mouth. While promotional activity around the broader franchise should help extend the game's reach, we remain confident in the long-term trajectory of Resonance, and we expect it to become a meaningful contributor of our back catalog.
More broadly, the release of Resonance had a positive impact on the franchise, with quarterly revenue from the previous two installments, Innocence and Requiem, increasing by more than 160%. The franchise has generated close to EUR 150 million in lifetime player spending. For the second part of the year, as expected, our release schedule is weighted towards fiscal Q4. It will rely on key titles like Road Kings, which will be released on March 11 and will benefit from a playable demo in early 2027. We have a solid 500,000 wishlists, and players' responses to each marketing bit are encouraging, while the most important commercial milestones remain ahead of us.
Dotemu will release several titles including Wardens of Avalon, Dungeons & Dragons: Long Rest Tavern, and Acornia: Mirror Worlds. I would like to highlight our recently announced publishing partnership for the upcoming open world game, Clutch. It is being developed by Maverick Games, a studio founded by veterans of Forza Horizon franchise. Mike Brown and his team are regarded as leading creative talents in the racing genre. As you can see from Clutch, but also Space Marine 3, Bradley the Badger, Magicians: The Devil's Deal, or Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Deathmaster, we are increasingly signing promising titles that have already generated strong interest among gamers. These projects are important to Pullup Entertainment's future value creation for two structural reasons. First, those games have a strong creative proposition and uncompromising gameplay, which are essential to standing out in a highly crowded release environment.
Second, we have a growing capacity to attract experienced creative teams and work with established entertainment brands. As a conclusion to my part, we continue to make progress in a challenging environment for new releases, and we remain focused on execution and cost discipline. I now hand over the call to Aurélien.
Thank you, Geoffroy, and hello, everybody. Q2 was up 7% at EUR 57 million, with back catalog up 8%. The underlying Q2 performance was particularly solid considering that Space Marine 2 Year two update benefited Q2 last year, while the update this year was released only at the beginning of Q3. On a six-month basis, H1 revenue reached EUR 101 million, down 23% from last year. Please take into account the fact that last year included EUR 60 million of deferred revenue versus just EUR 3 million this year. New releases revenue reached EUR 17 million in H1, compared with EUR 35 million last year. As Geoffroy said, we had a less dynamic than expected release of Resonance. Gallipoli performed in line with expectations, while the Train Sim World ecosystem delivered revenue in line with last year, thanks notably to a constant stream of live content.
H1 back catalog reached EUR 78 million versus EUR 94 million last year, excluding the impact of deferred revenue, back catalog was broadly stable year-on-year. As Geoffroy said, our back catalog continues to deliver robustly and provides visibility and predictability. We will release our H1 earnings on December 16, and we are now ready to answer your questions.
If you wish to ask a question, please raise your hand with the green button or submit a question through the chat.
Okay. We will start with the questions. We have the written question we have received online. Can you elaborate on why Resonance fell slightly short of expectations despite strong review scores?
Yes. First, the competitive environment remains very challenging for new releases on this quarter. Second, Resonance is a more action-adventure positioning did not fully resonate with some of its traditional audience. Third, the stakes is on top of the execution, is a discoverability. That is why to strengthen the potential of our new releases, we have signed recently titles which have already built anticipation among gamers and come with a strong creative identity and uncompromising gameplay.
Second question, still on Resonance. What is the revenue profile between launch date and the following months?
As usual for a premium title, a significant share of sales came around launch. But we believe the game has long legs. Today, it is true that player perception is very strong, with 92% positive reviews on Steam, which is supporting word of mouth over time. The release has clearly benefited the franchise, as you say, with an increase of Innocence and Requiem, by more than 160%. We are working to broaden its reach, including promotional activity across the franchise, and we expect Resonance to become a meaningful contributor to our back catalog.
Okay. Third question on Resonance. Can you comment on the different platforms' contribution?
Yes. We don't disclose a platform breakdown for individual titles. What I can say is that the more action-oriented positioning help us attract new players, notably on consoles, which is consistent with the objective of expanding the franchise audience. PC remains, as always, a key platform for us.
Okay. Fourth question on Resonance. Considering current sales are below your expectations, should we anticipate an accelerated depreciation on H1 results? Or do you still hope the game will be profitable in the long run?
We still expect the game to be profitable. It will take a bit more time than anticipated. The book are not closed yet, but we do not expect accelerated depreciation on H1, on Resonance.
A question about Clutch. What gives you confidence that this new IP can stand out in the highly competitive open world racing genre? Should we view it as a project with AAA-like ambitions, or is it better positioned as a premium AA title?
Yes. As I said previously, we recently announced this publishing partnership with the Maverick Games Studio. This game, Clutch, it is an open world game on the driving segment. This studio, first of all, was founded by veterans of Forza Horizon franchise. This is important. They are focusing all their efforts and creativity on the execution. It is standing out in terms of execution, and especially, they are adding narrative features very strong and very well, and awaited by the community. This narrative aspect is fulfilling what the gamers are expecting. Execution, the perfect equation is execution and narrative should be normally very well received by the audience.
Here, a new question on Resonance. The momentum of Q2 releases appears to be significantly below expectation. Can you provide a rough estimate of the shortfall related to Resonance?
Yes. First of all, Resonance is below expectation, but significantly below expectation. That being said, we do not comment individually, as you know. What we can say is that we have to add to that we did very well on the back catalog. In terms of revenue, the overall performance on the catalog compensates the miss that we have on Resonance, and I am talking about revenue, but you know that bottom line-wise, the catalog has not the same profile as a launch.
Do you view GTA VI as a headwind due to consumer spending concentration? When the industry has seen major blockbuster launches from Rockstar for the AA segment, have you observed any meaningful impact on catalog or back-catalog sales?
First we see GTA as a positive catalyst for the industry. It's a great news for the consoles hardware business, for the install base, the increase of the install base, which will benefit from the excitement it will create. Second, it is not releasing on PC at launch, and you know that PC is our strongest platform. Third, as you know, we have no meaningful release in Q3. Regarding the back catalog versus AAA with a very high price, the back catalog, and especially at the end of the year with all the promotion peak points, Black Friday, Christmas, and so on, will be at a lower price and very attractive.
Okay, can you give us an update on the current stage of Space Marine 3 development?
Yes. Development is progressing well with Games Workshop and Saber, our partners. The game has moved to the production phase, the full production phase, and what Space Marine 2, as we said previously, is doing today gives us a very strong visibility on the franchise. I repeat myself, 15 million unique players on Space Marine 2 is comforting us in our ambition for Space Marine 3. We will share more on the game and its timing at a later date.
Maybe we can take a pause to see if there is a question on the call.
So far we have no raised hands, but as a reminder, if you wish to ask a question, please raise your hand with the green button or submit a question through the chat.
Okay. If there is no more question, no question, sorry, direct question from the call, let's take two additional written question. Given the catalog performance in H1 and the lineup now heavily weighted towards the end of the fiscal year, do you expect. Catalog is a new release, so let's go back to that. Given the new release performance in H1 and the lineup now heavily weighted towards the end of the fiscal year, do you expect new release revenue to decline significantly over the full year?
As you say, what you call catalog is new releases, so the new releases. What we expect for H2 is to have something quite comparable compared to last year where it was more balanced Q3 and Q4. All in all, H2 will be in the same range this year and last year on new releases.
Okay, and the last question. Considering the number of closures and layoffs in the industry, is it easier to find appropriate launch dates for next year, or is the market still crowded?
The release environment remains very crowded. We keep a very disciplined approach to scheduling to find the appropriate release date for each title. We review each date against production process first, quality, and the competitive landscape. In that environment, what makes the difference is the strength of the games themselves. That is why, in fact, we increasingly sign titles that have already generated strong interest among gamers. With Clutch, as we previously said, with Bradley the Badger or Magicians: The Devil's Deal. We also start marketing earlier to build a core community well ahead of launch. The stakes on top of the execution is discoverability well in advance. I must say that Road Kings is a very good example. It is the final stage of production. The release date is for March 11 with a playable demo, as I said in my speech.
Wish lists, trends, and players' response to each marketing bit are encouraging today. Do not forget that we hit more than 500,000 wish lists as of today.
This concludes the Q&A session. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.