The game was not literally an Xbox launch title, since its debut was part of a second wave of game releases thirty days after the first launch. It was highly anticipated following the excited press reaction at the 2000 E3. Microsoft backed Blood Wake with a television advertising campaign on release, and it reached sixth on the NPD sales charts in November 2002 with over 340,000 units sold, and later that year was the #1 game on the NPD Xbox game rental rankings. With strong sales the game became one of the first in Microsoft's Platinum Hits and was re-released with new box cover art and a lower price.
