why did the game lose 90% of its playerbase?

[Krispy]

theres barely 10k-12k on a good day, it had over 100k at one point, why did people stop playing?

[Kai]

It's a game sill in its early access (alpha, beta, whatever you want to call it) phase, which means bugs, constant changes to the meta and the heroes, no progression system, no finalised ranked/competitive system and no casual friendly cosmetic updates (skins). The game's popularity skyrocketed briefly because of hype driven primarily by big name streamers, but the reality is that many of the people who jumped in at the start were never realistically going to stick around given the limitations I've mentioned. This is a game with a high skill floor that can be extremely confusing and difficult for new players, particularly those who do not understand that this is a MOBA with shooter elements rather than a direct competitor to Overwatch or Marvel Rivals (which is a very common misconception).

You will get all kinds of other answers about adding/removing ranked, the matchmaking and the release of Marvel Rivals but if you actually look at the timeline the player drop was very consistent regardless of what the developers were doing or what major games released. Since the end of last year, however, the player count has remained pretty consistent which suggests it has bottomed out and trimmed most of the casual player fat. The players that are left are likely going to continue to be here throughout the year as new content is added and the game's direction and balancing is further refined. Most gamers are just not interested in or built for playtesting games for extended periods of time - they need frequent casual-friendly content updates or they will leave and cycle through whatever else is trending. Massive player drops post-release and/or post-update are pretty common for live service games. Some people will try to use Marvel Rivals as a counter to that but actually take the time to look at it's player count - it has lost 50% in a single month and is continuing to drop. Deadlock has managed to establish a core, dedicated playerbase despite the issues I mentioned at the top, which is a good sign for its future.

[Steven Spielberg]

Kai eredeti hozzászólása:

It's a game sill in its early access (alpha, beta, whatever you want to call it) phase, which means bugs, constant changes to the meta and the heroes, no progression system, no finalised ranked/competitive system and no casual friendly cosmetic updates (skins). The game's popularity skyrocketed briefly because of hype driven primarily by big name streamers, but the reality is that many of the people who jumped in at the start were never realistically going to stick around given the limitations I've mentioned. This is a game with a high skill floor that can be extremely confusing and difficult for new players, particularly those who do not understand that this is a MOBA with shooter elements rather than a direct competitor to Overwatch or Marvel Rivals (which is a very common misconception).

You will get all kinds of other answers about adding/removing ranked, the matchmaking and the release of Marvel Rivals but if you actually look at the timeline the player drop was very consistent regardless of what the developers were doing or what major games released. Since the end of last year, however, the player count has remained pretty consistent which suggests it has bottomed out and trimmed most of the casual player fat. The players that are left are likely going to continue to be here throughout the year as new content is added and the game's direction and balancing is further refined. Most gamers are just not interested in or built for playtesting games for extended periods of time - they need frequent casual-friendly content updates or they will leave and cycle through whatever else is trending. Massive player drops post-release and/or post-update are pretty common for live service games. Some people will try to use Marvel Rivals as a counter to that but actually take the time to look at it's player count - it has lost 50% in a single month and is continuing to drop. Deadlock has managed to establish a core, dedicated playerbase despite the issues I mentioned at the top, which is a good sign for its future.

Thanks for actually going into detail rather than just say "♥♥♥♥ game" or "dead game". While the player count and queue times can be a little disheartening at times, I can still find games in a reasonable time depending on the day. It's amazing to me how many people come into this as a shooter first and then laud Marvel Rivals as being the better when there isn't much to compare besides basic shooting mechanics

[{disaster} Take]

Kai eredeti hozzászólása:

Deadlock has managed to establish a core, dedicated playerbase despite the issues I mentioned at the top, which is a good sign for its future.

This is something I've not mentioned myself, but that is what keeps a lot of legacies going. I mention 3rd Strike a ton, and occasionally GunZ: The Duel (apparently coming to Steam!), these games, mainly 3rd Strike, still have active players, though GunZ is largely 3rd party servers and stuff because it was shut down years and years ago. They have players because those games offer a really, really deep gaming experience that seemingly has infinite things to learn, and it's really clear which thing you can learn next to get better at the game.
These kind of games put of the beer and pretzels crowd, and that's fine, games that are 'for everyone' are either made to be beer and pretzels games or trash masking itself as gold.

[Kai]

Steven Spielberg eredeti hozzászólása:

Thanks for actually going into detail rather than just say "♥♥♥♥ game" or "dead game". While the player count and queue times can be a little disheartening at times, I can still find games in a reasonable time depending on the day.

I am still very sympathetic to the complaint that the game is no longer fun because the skill disparity within matches is too great or the queue times are too long. I play in Oceania, one of the smallest regions, and it has been rough for a while. All my friends have quit the game because of the increasingly poor matchmaking and I can't blame them at all because the matches they were being subjected to were genuinely terrible at times.

Casual gamers love a negative pile-on though, so they have been more than happy to take those genuine complaints and twist them into a bigger false narrative about the game being "dead" or the developers being clueless and not listening to feedback. It's a lot easier to invent a story where you're the victim of some terrible wrongdoing rather than accept that inevitably things haven't worked out in the way you wanted them to and that it's not actually anyone's fault, nor are you owed an apology or reparation. I also do think there has been quite a bit of astroturfing from players of other MOBAs and hero shooters attempting to whip disappointed Deadlock players up into a frenzy, so it always pays to think critically about what people are saying, why they might be saying it and whether it actually has any connection to reality.

[じょっぱ]

Because being matched with absolute fkn ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ once you're barely above 50%WR is the opposite of fun.

[anicKin]

Kai eredeti hozzászólása:

It's a game sill in its early access (alpha, beta, whatever you want to call it) phase, which means bugs, constant changes to the meta and the heroes, no progression system, no finalised ranked/competitive system and no casual friendly cosmetic updates (skins). The game's popularity skyrocketed briefly because of hype driven primarily by big name streamers, but the reality is that many of the people who jumped in at the start were never realistically going to stick around given the limitations I've mentioned. This is a game with a high skill floor that can be extremely confusing and difficult for new players, particularly those who do not understand that this is a MOBA with shooter elements rather than a direct competitor to Overwatch or Marvel Rivals (which is a very common misconception).

You will get all kinds of other answers about adding/removing ranked, the matchmaking and the release of Marvel Rivals but if you actually look at the timeline the player drop was very consistent regardless of what the developers were doing or what major games released. Since the end of last year, however, the player count has remained pretty consistent which suggests it has bottomed out and trimmed most of the casual player fat. The players that are left are likely going to continue to be here throughout the year as new content is added and the game's direction and balancing is further refined. Most gamers are just not interested in or built for playtesting games for extended periods of time - they need frequent casual-friendly content updates or they will leave and cycle through whatever else is trending. Massive player drops post-release and/or post-update are pretty common for live service games. Some people will try to use Marvel Rivals as a counter to that but actually take the time to look at it's player count - it has lost 50% in a single month and is continuing to drop. Deadlock has managed to establish a core, dedicated playerbase despite the issues I mentioned at the top, which is a good sign for its future.

Stop with the excuses. Game is dying because people are not interested. I played since "open invites" and there were bugs but overall still playable. "CORE PLAYERBASE" of less than 16k? Joker.

1) zero progress
2) match making sucks
3) getting auto-muted for simply talking

These are the main reasons this game died so fast.

[Deathtome]

DeadlockPlzQueTimes eredeti hozzászólása:

theres barely 10k-12k on a good day, it had over 100k at one point, why did people stop playing?

poor game design, the game is highly unblanaced with how the characters are designed and the soul deny system works, they honestly just need to remove the soul deny system, and aim down sight

[Saikatai]

No native built-in official controller support

[Deathtome]

Saikatai eredeti hozzászólása:

No native built-in official controller support

game is not meant for controllers.

[TimeLess]

Theres nothing to offer right now thats different from when the Alpha came out. Thats why people are leaving.

[Kai]

𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕚𝕟 eredeti hozzászólása:

"CORE PLAYERBASE" of less than 16k? Joker.

Obvious rage bait comment, but for the sake of the thread I will point out that a peak of 16-17k for a game still in its invite-only phase of play-testing is good.

[Wooki]

Kai eredeti hozzászólása:

It's a game sill in its early access (alpha, beta, whatever you want to call it)

Pure copium.

Dont delude yourself, this "is it".

[{disaster} Take]

Wooki eredeti hozzászólása:

Pure copium.

Dont delude yourself, this "is it".

While I'd generally agree that trying to say "it's in alpha/earldev/etc" isn't a valid defence, I have friends who want to play this game and can't. A lot of people want in, because the game looks rad, and a lot of the people who left have done so because Rivals is easier and done now, or are TF2 players rightfully mad that TF2 was abandoned for Deadlock.
Just saiyan.

TimeLess eredeti hozzászólása:

𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕚𝕟 eredeti hozzászólása:

1) zero progress

Extrinsics should be accessory, but it works to retain players even in games without any gameplay at all, so I suppose you're both right, but I'm not happy about it.

Deathtome eredeti hozzászólása:

Name a character who's unbalanced. Just curious.

[Marmarmar34]

People realized it was more moba than shooter and dropped it.

[avilob]

its trash and you get hounded by moderators for no reason really