Left Behind Games Posts $4.1 Million Q3 Loss

Christian-themed game developer Left Behind Games has revealed its financial results for the third quarter ended December 31, 2006, specifically noting a significant loss of $4.1 million for the period compared to the $934,000 loss posted the prior year. The company reported sales of $2.2 million for the six weeks ending the December quarter. This period represents the company's first period of revenue, all of which was derived from sales of its flagship title Left Behind: Eternal Forces, which launched on November 14, 2006. The real-time strategy game is based on the Left Behind series of books which deal with an Evangelical Christian eschatology view of the end times. The game has already been criticized by Christian and Jewish groups, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations also calling out the game for gameplay that rewards players for either converting or killing people of other faiths. Left Behind Games notes that it expects to ship its next game this September, with CEO Troy Lyndon noting, “we are expanding our sales channels beyond major retailers to include more Christian bookstores, ministry sponsorships, church outreaches, Christian conferences, LAN center licensing, viral online and Internet sales, music concerts and trial versions.” He added: “We have spent nearly five years building a company and these results only represent the first six weeks of our sales... Now that we have distribution into more than 10,000 retail locations, we expect to have significantly more revenues and reach profitability in less than 12 months.”