Dave the Diver has passed 10 million sales, while In the Jungle tops 1 million. Here is how Mintrocket is turning a breakout hit into a long-term franchise.
Image: IGDB
Store links: Dave the Diver on Steam, Dave the Diver: Dredge on Steam
Dave reaches 10 million before its next big audience arrives
Dave the Diver has surpassed 10 million sales worldwide, Mintrocket announced in a September 9 press release distributed through Games Press. The figure covers sales across PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and mobile since the game’s initial early access launch in October 2022.
The timing is the real story. According to Mintrocket, the Dave the Diver 10 million sales milestone was reached in August, shortly before the game’s worldwide mobile launch on iOS and Android, which is set for September 17. Mobile is already part of the total because the game sold 1 million units during its China soft launch, according to the same announcement. That creates an unusual snapshot: Dave has already crossed a huge lifetime-sales marker before its global mobile release has fully opened the door to a wider audience.
For Mintrocket, the milestone lands at the exact moment Dave the Diver is shifting from a surprise hit into a managed franchise. Head of Studio and Game Director Jaeho Hwang said in the press release that the team is “looking forward to expanding the Dave the Diver franchise in the future,” specifically naming the upcoming cooking simulation and adventure spin-off Bancho The Chef. Hwang also said Mintrocket “can’t wait to share our future plans.” That is confirmed intent, not a roadmap. The studio has named one spin-off, but has not announced a Dave the Diver 2, a sequel window, or a full franchise slate in the supplied source material.
That distinction matters because Dave’s success has come from a delicate blend of systems that could easily be flattened if treated like an endlessly expandable brand. The original pitch, as Mintrocket describes it, rests on three pillars: restaurant management, sea exploration in the mysterious Blue Hole, and boss fights built around unique mechanics. The sales number says that formula has traveled far. The question now is how far Mintrocket can stretch it without sanding down the curiosity, pacing, and oddball craft that made players keep diving.
In the Jungle turns expansion content into franchise testing ground
The latest paid expansion, Dave the Diver In the Jungle, has already surpassed 1 million units sold since releasing on June 18, according to Mintrocket’s Games Press announcement. Mintrocket also points to a 91/100 OpenCritic rating for the expansion, describing it as a strong critical and commercial performer.
In the Jungle is important because it changes the shape of Dave the Diver expansion content. Invision Community’s review describes earlier crossover DLC involving properties such as Dredge and Godzilla as side-story material built around the familiar Blue Hole. Mintrocket’s press release also lists Godzilla, Like a Dragon, Dredge, and other IP collaborations among the game’s regular free and premium downloadable content updates. Those collaborations kept Dave visible, gave returning players fresh hooks, and let the game borrow energy from outside fandoms.
In the Jungle appears to do something different. Invision Community reports that the expansion takes Dave away from the Blue Hole and into a new ecosystem with a freshwater lake, an explorable jungle, a new village, fresh progression systems, and another restaurant to manage. Its setup sends Dave and friends to the remote village of Utara after reports of a mysterious phenomenon deep in the jungle, trading saltwater reefs and ocean predators for a freshwater biome.
That sounds less like a guest episode and closer to a prototype for how Dave can live beyond its original map. The safest expansion for a breakout hit would have been more fish, more recipes, and more jokes in the same waters. In the Jungle instead tests whether the core rhythm can survive a change of habitat. If players will follow Dave from the Blue Hole to Utara, then Mintrocket has evidence that the franchise is portable, not only popular.
The loop still has to earn every new platform and biome
Dave the Diver’s appeal has always been mechanical as much as aesthetic. The game pairs the low-pressure satisfaction of filling a restaurant menu with the higher-risk push of exploring deeper, stranger, and more dangerous waters. Mintrocket’s own description emphasizes restaurant customization, serving guests, reputation growth, deep-sea exploration, secrets, and boss fights. That interlocking structure is the reason one extra dive can feel productive even when it goes sideways. A strange fish, a rare ingredient, or a bit of map knowledge can still feed the restaurant half of the game.
Invision Community’s expansion coverage suggests In the Jungle understands that relationship. The review says freshwater diving changes more than scenery, adding unique species, dangerous predators, rare ingredients, hidden ruins, ancient temples, and forgotten structures beneath the lake. It also notes that each dive feeds back into Bancho’s menu experimentation, with new creatures supplying ingredients for new dishes.
That is the craft challenge for Mintrocket’s future plans. A new biome cannot simply repaint the old economy. It has to create new reasons to scan the environment, change routes, weigh risk, and come back with a bag full of ingredients that feel earned. According to Invision Community, In the Jungle alters visibility depending on location and gives wildlife different behavior, which are the kinds of small design shifts that help an expansion feel like discovery rather than checklist work.
The danger, as Dave grows into a franchise, is that the formula becomes too legible. Once players know the cadence of dive, harvest, upgrade, serve, repeat, the magic depends on surprise and friction. The reported jungle setting gives Mintrocket new levers to pull: freshwater ecology, ruins, village progression, and a second restaurant. Those are useful franchise tools only if they complicate Dave’s routine in satisfying ways.
A 10 million seller with an indie feel, backed by bigger-platform logic
Dave the Diver’s sales story sits in an interesting space. It plays like a handcrafted discovery game, all tiny animations, tonal swerves, and satisfying systems stacked on top of one another. At the business level, Game World Observer identifies Mintrocket as a Korean team and a subsidiary of Nexon. That combination helps explain how Dave can feel intimate while also moving aggressively across platforms.
The confirmed platform list is now wide. Mintrocket says the 10 million figure spans PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and mobile. DayOne separately lists the game as available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, with mobile due for worldwide release on September 17, 2026. Game World Observer also lists macOS and Windows, with PC availability on Steam and the Epic Games Store.
FullCleared adds useful sales context, reporting that the previous public figure it had was 6 million as of November, around the time the game arrived on Xbox. On that reading, Dave moved roughly 4 million additional copies in about nine months, with China’s mobile soft launch contributing 1 million units. That comparison is FullCleared’s analysis, not a separate Mintrocket breakdown by region or platform.
The unresolved piece is platform distribution. Game World Observer, citing Gamalytic estimates, reports that up to 7.2 million copies may have come from Steam and that Steam revenue is approaching $100 million. Those are third-party estimates, not official Mintrocket numbers. Still, even as estimates, they underline the likely shape of Dave’s growth: a PC breakout that kept finding new pools of players through console launches, content updates, and now mobile.
Mobile could be Dave’s biggest opportunity and its trickiest fit
The global mobile launch on September 17 is the next practical date for players to watch. Mintrocket’s 10 million sales figure already includes mobile because of China’s soft launch, but the worldwide iOS and Android rollout has not happened yet in the supplied material. That means Dave is entering another audience-expansion phase with strong proof of demand, but also with questions the sources do not answer.
The supplied announcements do not provide mobile pricing, control details, performance targets, device requirements, save-transfer options, or upgrade paths for existing owners. Readers should treat those as unannounced based on the current source material. The confirmed point is availability timing: global mobile release is scheduled for September 17, 2026, following 1 million units sold during the China soft launch.
Design-wise, mobile is a fascinating test for Dave the Diver. The game’s day structure, short dives, menu prep, and restaurant service all sound friendly to portable sessions. At the same time, Dave’s best moments often come from longer chains of intention: one dive to gather ingredients, one upgrade to push deeper, one new recipe to improve the night’s service, then one more dive because the Blue Hole still has secrets. If the mobile version preserves that rhythm without making the interface feel crowded, it could become a natural home for the game.
That remains expectation rather than confirmed performance. What is confirmed is that Mintrocket is counting mobile as part of the franchise’s platform future. Reaching 10 million before the global mobile launch gives the studio a stronger launch narrative, but it also raises the stakes. Dave’s next audience may be less patient with friction, and a restaurant-diving hybrid needs careful touch controls if it is going to feel as playful as it does on PC and console.
Bancho The Chef shows how Mintrocket is choosing its expansion path
The named future project is Bancho The Chef, which Mintrocket describes through Hwang’s quote as an upcoming cooking simulation and adventure spin-off. Game World Observer also reports that the spin-off centers on one of Dave the Diver’s main characters. Beyond that, the supplied source material does not confirm a release date, platform list, price, or detailed mechanics.
Bancho is a smart choice for the first visible branch because the restaurant side of Dave already has its own identity. Bancho’s kitchen is where the haul becomes meaning: ingredients turn into dishes, dishes turn into money and reputation, and the quiet satisfaction of a good night validates the risk of a dive. Pulling that character into a cooking-led spin-off gives Mintrocket a way to expand the IP without immediately forcing every new project to include underwater exploration.
It also signals a broader franchise philosophy. In the Jungle tests whether Dave can leave the Blue Hole while retaining the dive-to-dinner loop. Bancho The Chef tests whether a supporting pillar can stand closer to the center. If both work, Mintrocket has options: future expansions can build new ecosystems, while spin-offs can explore individual characters and systems.
The key will be restraint. Dave the Diver became a 10 million seller by making its genre mash-up feel surprisingly coherent. Adventure, RPG progression, management, boss fights, pixel art, 3D elements, and Mintrocket’s humor all push in different directions, yet the game’s daily loop keeps them aligned. Franchise planning has to respect that balance. A Dave universe filled with projects that understand their own loops is exciting. A Dave universe that chases scale for its own sake would be far less distinctive.
For returning players, In the Jungle is the clearest next step
If you already own Dave the Diver and want the most concrete new content, the available evidence points to In the Jungle. It is out now, it is a premium expansion according to Mintrocket and Invision Community, and it has crossed 1 million units sold. The expansion adds a new setting, a freshwater lake, jungle exploration, Utara village, new progression systems, another restaurant, new species, new predators, hidden ruins, and additional ingredients tied back into Bancho’s cooking loop, according to Invision Community’s review.
If you are waiting for mobile, the confirmed date is September 17, 2026 for the global iOS and Android launch. Since pricing and technical details are not included in the supplied source material, cautious players should wait for storefront listings or Mintrocket’s platform-specific information before deciding whether to double dip.
For franchise watchers, the headline is bigger than the number. Dave the Diver sales have now reached a scale where Mintrocket can plan beyond maintenance updates and celebratory crossovers. In the Jungle’s 1 million sales suggest players are willing to pay for larger shifts in place and structure. Bancho The Chef confirms that Mintrocket is already thinking past Dave as a single-game phenomenon.
That is the delicate point Dave has reached. Ten million sales can turn a charming oddity into a content machine, but it can also fund stranger, bolder experiments inside a world players already trust. In the Jungle is the first major sign that Mintrocket understands the difference. It moves Dave into unfamiliar water, then asks whether the old appetite for discovery still follows. So far, by the studio’s own numbers, plenty of players have taken the trip.