In this session, we will provide thought-provoking impulses and generic learnings from an unusual success story backed up with real and unshown user data. Specifically, we will showcase the relative insignificance of metacritics, the importance of creating contrasts, the overwhelming value of a well-designed multiplayer-coop, the tiny scope needed for a satisfying open-world experience, and last not least the influence of an award-winning trailer breaking expectations in several aspects. All in all, we will show how unconventional decisions strolling aside the well-worn path served Dead Island well yielding atypical market results.