Dave the Diver Hits 9 Million Sales, CEO Details Character Design
The talk shows how MINTROCKET deliberately shaped Dave as a plain, relatable hero surrounded by strong personalities, a design choice the CEO credits with keeping the character memorable long after the game's initial attention faded.
Reporting from 1 source: 4Gamer.net.
At CGDC 2026, MINTROCKET CEO Jaeho Hwang reviewed the three years since Dave the Diver's release, revealing cumulative sales of 9 million units across mobile, console, and PC. He explained the design philosophy behind protagonist Dave, addressed a common misconception about the game being based on a true story, and detailed how supporting characters were built to complement Dave's personality.
Dave the Diver has sold over 9 million units across mobile, console, and PC, MINTROCKET CEO Jaeho Hwang said during a CGDC 2026 talk in Shanghai. The game holds a 90 score on both Metacritic and OpenCritic, and its large DLC In the Jungle scored 86 and 91 respectively, with 47 percent of total sales coming from China.
Hwang traced the game's origins to a mobile project developed with National Geographic, which was shelved when the studio closed. About a year later, the team restarted development for PC, returning to the original idea of searching for fish and settling on the current 2D and 3D hybrid visuals.
He also addressed a misconception that the game is based on a true story. The game borrows only the appearance of diver David Shaw and the setting of a deep pit cave; the tragic narrative itself was left out.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.