General Gaming News

[Sly Boots]

It's hard to imagine anyone being that bothered about that :/

I think there will be plenty of people looking forward to it. Starfield is one of those games about which the agenda was set by the people who didn't like it and ignores the thousands of people who did like it. Because the general consensus was that it would be a hit in the same way Skyrim was when it wasn't that was spun into it being a game nobody liked.

https://steamcharts.com/app/1716740

Player numbers not amazing and continuing to drop. I tried it, thought it was boring and I think the same is true of the majority of players. It's been out for about six months and I can't remember the last time I saw anyone even talking about it.

[Rusty]

Starfield was a really weird one. I racked up over a 100 hours in it but it still hasn't left a need to go back. Once the gamepass sub dropped I didn't feel the need to get it again.

[Wrathbone]

It's hard to imagine anyone being that bothered about that :/

I think there will be plenty of people looking forward to it. Starfield is one of those games about which the agenda was set by the people who didn't like it and ignores the thousands of people who did like it. Because the general consensus was that it would be a hit in the same way Skyrim was when it wasn't that was spun into it being a game nobody liked.

Agreed, I’m looking forward to the DLC.

[Raid]

I think there will be plenty of people looking forward to it. Starfield is one of those games about which the agenda was set by the people who didn't like it and ignores the thousands of people who did like it. Because the general consensus was that it would be a hit in the same way Skyrim was when it wasn't that was spun into it being a game nobody liked.

I agree the online rhetoric was largely negative and there'll obviously be *some* people looking forward to it, but I think the Steam player counts are fairly telling.

Starfield:


vs the significantly older Skyrim: Special Edition, which is available on far more platforms so you would assume the userbase will be more fragmented.


I know it's hardly a definitive figure as there are so many things that factor into this, but Skyrim is 13 years old and also available on that platform. I did look at Fallout 4 too, but that's had an enormous uptick in popularity recently so the figures aren't helpful.

[Wrathbone]

I wonder how those figures compare to something like BG3, which is a similar size for a single playthrough, because for a non-live service single player game I'd expect there to be that sort of downward curve and dropoff after release. For this sort of game, I'd play through it once at release for maybe a month or two, then come back to it maybe a year later for another run. I wouldn't keep playing it consistently over an extended period, and I'm not sure most other people would either. Skyrim is an outlier because of its enduring popularity - there are people who basically live in it.

As for why people have stopped talking about it, there was so much snark online about it that trying to venture anything remotely like a positive take became futile and depressing. I think DJ's right that plenty of people like Starfield, but they maybe don't feel like shouting about it when the gaming community's narrative was solidified early on.

[Raid]

BG3 certainly had a falloff, I don't think a single-player game would ever not, but the current numbers are more than ten times that of Starfield's.

[Wrathbone]

Yes, BG3 is a far more successful and popular game, but the point is that the dropoff of Starfield players is not the death knell that the internet seems to have decided it is. It's pretty much the same trend line as BG3.

[DjchunKfunK]

Like I said, it's not as successful as Skyrim, especially in terms of keeping people playing but I don't think a drop off in players is an indication of a failed or unpopular game, most games drop off in a similar way. People rightly make a big deal of concurrent players as they are a good guide but they are not a be-all and end-all as for one it doesn't include console.

As for why people have stopped talking about it, there was so much snark online about it that trying to venture anything remotely like a positive take became futile and depressing. I think DJ's right that plenty of people like Starfield, but they maybe don't feel like shouting about it when the gaming community's narrative was solidified early on.

I think this is a really interesting point. It's similar to how people end up surprised at how many people play certain games because the media doesn't talk about them much, for whatever reason.

[Wrathbone]

People rightly make a big deal of concurrent players as they are a good guide but they are not a be-all and end-all as for one it doesn't include console.

Also important to remember that many (probably most) people played Starfield on Gamepass. It's only weirdos like me who bought the damn thing that are playing it on Steam.

[DjchunKfunK]

Along similar lines Bethesda just announced what is coming in the first big Starfield update since release. Coming May 15th. Headlines are: the ability to change the difficulty of combat, so you could make gun combat harder but ship combat easier for instance; massively improved surface maps; interior ship decoration mode; performance options for consoles; and the ability to not have the camera zoom into an NPCs face when going into dialogue.

https://bethesda.net/en/game/starfield/ ... may-1-2024

In the video they put out they also teased the land vehicle they are working on and I think they said this update would allow you to remove the weight limit on your inventory and give shops unlimited money.

[Sly Boots]

In other words, because modders abandoned the game already, Bethesda is forced to fix everything itself for once

[DjchunKfunK]

In other words, because modders abandoned the game already, Bethesda is forced to fix everything itself for once

Weirdly the Creation tools aren't even out yet.

[Snowy]

I got bored of Starfield within a few hours.

[Alan]

https://x.com/jasonschreier/status/1787835350745842153


Fuck that for a game of sojers

[DjchunKfunK]

Terrible news for all involved and especially with so many studios being shuttered, hard to see how everyone getting laid off is going to be able to find a new job.


I don't think it is that surprising to see these two go through. Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin both made big budget games that didn't really do the numbers necessary.