I don't care if it's early access or not, this isn't a good sign

I doubt GGG saw this much of a player drop before release. Obviously, it's only steam numbers but it's some representation of how much neglect and lack of listening to players. I'm going back to POE1 for now and I don't see myself coming back to POE2 until it essentially gets a whole rework which I 100% guarantee will happen out of spire, due to such backlash about these poor design choices that were already figured out in POE. Anybody in a business knows how hard it is to reel back in buyers after they leave, I fear the past few months and their lack of serious fixes to the game put people off for good.

Nulled.

Now show poe1's steamcharts. I don't know what you're trying to convey honestly, we already have a release date for 0.2. 33k is still a decent player count, and I don't think a whole rework of poe2 is necessary, campaign is fucking great, just needs more content in endgame.

Analytics are definitely important. Especially when it's based on numbers.

But are all the factors taken into account?

1. This is a new game. It attracts more attention than any update. And of course many curious people will leave. They didn't come to stay, they came to watch, they were lured by the reputation of the first game.

2. Player fluctuations over the lifetime of leagues. There is such an expression "The League is dead" - this means that players do not retain interest all the time of the league, but lose it gradually. The league is already 3 months old with a life cycle of 4 months (I may be wrong here).

To really see some kind of sign look at the peak values of players in the next two leagues (or better yet, three). This will mean a general increase or decrease in interest in the game.

We also don't know the value of "average game time" in dynamics.

Without all this there is no sign yet. The usual predictable behavior of players.

P.S. Exiting Early Access to the free model will reset all these observations.

If its a craptastic game people wont play it. Doesnt matter if its the end of the season or everyone has done everything they can to. They will never get back to that amount of players again. Most of the time, when you lose players those players will not come back because something better came along.


Hell even the streamers went back to POE1.

"

Bobothewizard#8756 wrote:

If its a craptastic game people wont play it. Doesnt matter if its the end of the season or everyone has done everything they can to. They will never get back to that amount of players again. Most of the time, when you lose players those players will not come back because something better came along.


Hell even the streamers went back to POE1.

This is the type of uncomfortable truth that often leads to resistance from society, much like how Socrates faced execution for challenging the status quo. His philosophical insights threatened established beliefs, and as a result, he was condemned.

Similarly, those who speak truths that society isn’t ready to hear often face harsh backlash.
History shows that, much like Socrates, speaking such truths can come at a great personal cost.

In the case of Christ, his message, too, was seen as a threat to the established order, leading to his crucifixion. Both instances highlight the enduring struggle between truth and the power structures that seek to suppress it.

The current state of PoE 2 mirrors this reality, its failure to live up to expectations is a harsh truth that many are unwilling to face, and as a result, the game's potential demise may be written off rather than addressed.

It’s as if the PoE 2 community, in its denial of these truths, would rather choose Barabbas (the lies and false promises) over Christ (the harsh but necessary truth).

Stay safe out there, Exiles, and remember to question all that you face—true wisdom lies not in avoiding hardship, but in embracing it with virtue and resilience. Follow the path of knowledge, and let the strength of reason and self-control guide you through the chaos.

In my opinion, current player count is meaningless. The real indicator will be how many return for 0.2 and play. PoE has shown that they have a dedicated crowd who will return league after league, along with a gradual increase in new players. I have a feeling that PoE2 launch had a ton of flavour of the month Steam gamers who hop from release to release and aren’t coming back because of a patch. I could be wrong and 0.2 ends up having a ton of players again though. I’m not really sure what return numbers they will consider a success, probably based off how many supporter packs they sell..

You come across like there's a crisis, an entertainment crisis. It's ok to play other games. Cards even. Dice. Bones. I think OP is an out of control sensationalized romantic. Breathe. Mom sells the script every month. It ain't new.

Take this logic and look at every other video games graph of players/time after release.

I'll help. We're looking at the first 4 months after release (of early access) but I'll compare it to the first 4 months of full released games.



ER peaked at release with just under 1mil active players, 4 months later over 90% of them gone. wow, what a terrible game it must have been. I bet no one came back to play the DLC.



BG was in early access for multiple years, peaked at 875k around release and 4 months later 80% of players had moved on.

I'm not saying poe2 doesn't have issues, but using these graphs as 'evidence' is dumb.

My Meatloaf brings all the girls from the yard~