Code Violet may be one of the lowest-rated PlayStation 5 exclusives released so far in 2026, but for its developer, TeamKill Media, the game has already become a defining commercial success. The studio has confirmed that Code Violet is now its biggest release to date, driven by strong player support and high sales performance on the PlayStation Store, even as critical reception remains sharply divided.
Speaking through its official social media account, TeamKill Media directly addressed the contrast between reviews and player response. “We make games for our fans and players who actually spend their hard earned money on our games and support us, not critics,” the studio stated. It added that “Fans made us number one and fans are having fun with our ‘dated’ old school gameplay,” before confirming, “You all have made Code Violet our biggest success to date and still have 1 day to full release.”
The developer later followed up with additional sales-related claims, stating that the title had climbed from leading pre-orders to becoming the top-selling new game on the PlayStation Store. “From number 1 in pre-orders to now number 1 in Best Selling New Games on the PlayStation store,” the studio said, thanking players and noting that the success would allow it to invest further into future projects and ongoing support.
Code Violet officially launched on January 10, 2026, as a PlayStation 5 exclusive. Developed using Unreal Engine 5, the third-person action-horror survival game positions itself as a modern take on the Dino Crisis formula, emphasizing resource management, stealth, and environmental tension. Set in the 25th century, the story follows Violet Sinclair, a woman taken from the past to help sustain humanity on the Aion colony, now overrun by prehistoric threats within the Bioengineering Complex.
Critically, the game has struggled, earning a Metacritic score of 40, placing it among the worst-reviewed PS5 exclusives to date. Reviewers have cited technical issues and dated design sensibilities, drawing frequent comparisons to TeamKill Media’s earlier title Quantum Error, which received a similar aggregate score. Even so, the studio has been active in addressing player feedback post-launch.
On January 10, TeamKill Media released Patch Version 1.000.025, which resolved several inventory-related bugs, improved weapon input handling, expanded subtitle size options, and applied performance optimizations to hardware-based global illumination.
The developers also engaged directly with fans praising the game’s throwback design. In response to a player thanking the team for creating a Dino Crisis-style experience, TeamKill Media explained its motivation for the project, stating that it wanted to create “our own version of a modern Dino survival horror” after realizing that some classic concepts may never return officially.
