In the past few years, I have seen a trend with the gaming press and MMO players. They watch the active player counts to determine if a game is good or not. We typically see a huge spike at launch and then over the next 3-6 months a steep decline followed by server merges. This naturally happens to any MMO.
Now there are a few reasons for the large spike and sink effect. The first major wave of people seeming to quit the game can largely be attributed to the first few Bot waves being banned. Every MMO has a surge of bots in the beginning and developers fight to cast them out. All of those bot accounts are then seen as players who are no longer playing. This causes a massive dip in the population of the game. Bots take up players' slots and count as active players in a game. Therefore when the bots are cut out as was the case for New World, Lost Ark, Black Desert, and Throne of Liberty, people tend to assume the game is failing. When it's succeeding in making the player experience more enjoyable.
It's really dangerous that so many content creators are doom-calling games when their population declines or when servers merge early on. Many times they go on what the charts show and don't look into the reasons why. They assume bots and bad actors don't count against numbers but they do. Something as simple as getting rid of bots can cause a mostly negative review slide that cascades into good games being harmed by assumptions.
I challenge you all to see how many people were banned in the hacker and bot ban waves and compare them to how many people are no longer playing. Take the time and you will see the two are related and in fact, the real humans are still playing and enjoying the game. Game reviewers, bloggers, content creators, and news affiliates all get paid for views of their content. The more sensational the story the more readers. They need games to fail so they can drive revenue. So make your mind up for yourself. Don't let someone else, including me, make your mind up for you.
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