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Starfield’s player count slips below Skyrim on Steam, just two months after Bethesda’s ‘biggest launch ever’ (www.rockpapershotgun.com)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Here's the thing though: Skyrim is an anomaly. Dev companies don't care if you're still playing their games after you buy them. It was Bethesda's biggest launch ever, and that's all they care about because just having players play the game doesn't make them money.

It's a sad pattern, but eventually all aging game dev studios take this path. They need a big launch. They don't need continued patronage from their players.

Also, I've only ever heard that starfield is a buggy mess with ironically limited gameplay options for the scope of the universe it's in, and the philosophy the studio took of "yeah not everything is supposed to be interesting, there's plenty of empty space" seems a lot like shooting themselves in the foot.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I agree that lots of game companies do only have to care about the launch, but I disagree that this applies for Bethesda, because:

many (even casual) folks were still buying copies of Skyrim two months after its launch, as it turned out to be so popular.
experienced players do hold off on buying Bethesda games on launch day, because they are known to be buggy.
they were able to milk Skyrim for many years, offering DLC and releasing it on all kinds of platforms.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

they were able to milk Skyrim for many years, offering DLC and releasing it on all kinds of platforms.

Aye, the SE and Anniversary editions made them non-trivial money. Can't understate how that helped float them through the disaster that was Fallout76

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I agree with you on those points, as the pertain to Skyrim specifically. Bethesda was a different company 12 years ago.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Well, yeah. I just imagine, especially the Bethesda of today would want to have another title they can milk for another decade.

But yes, they'd need the Bethesda from 12 years ago + 12 years of persistent improvement, to actually deliver something milkable.

This deserves an entirely separate rant, but to me, this already starts at the title, "Starfield". It sounds like Astronomy Simulator 2024. Like no one had a vision other than "Fallout in Space". And that would already have more of a premise than "Starfield" tells me.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I like Starfield, but there being no way to play it aside from being a member of constelation is an RP killer, plus the lack of a survival mode

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

That's kinda like saying "but there being no way to play it aside from being a Dragon Born..."

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

To an extant, once you complete Helgan you can go do what you like

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

I actually decided to go a similar route with my Starfield playthrough. Went a really long time before doing any main missions outside what was required at start.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Seriously limits the amount of RP enjoyment I get from RPG's.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

"What kind of games do you like?"

"I like G's."