The action RPG Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem is facing problems, yet it is so popular that it even surpassed the previous Steam leader in action RPGs, Path of Exile.
What was the previous record in hack ‘n slays on Steam? The genre king on Steam was previously Path of Exile by Grinding Gear Games. According to Steamcharts, 123,462 players played the action RPG simultaneously in December 2018.
A New Record
What record has Wolcen set now? The hack ‘n slay launched on Steam on February 13. However, it reached its previous peak player count according to Steamcharts on Sunday evening, February 16, at 21:00 with 127,542 simultaneous active players.
Thus, Wolcen has dethroned Path of Exile.
Why were these player numbers reached on that day? Wolcen was able to achieve over 62,000 players at release. On the evening of February 14, the servers were taken offline due to an issue and were inaccessible until Sunday evening. When they went back online, there was a massive surge as players wanted to continue playing in online mode.
Is there more to come? It is quite possible that the player count for Wolcen will continue to rise. Currently, some interested players are likely waiting for the developers to address the bugs and issues like disappearing items. As soon as Wolcen runs better, player counts could continue to increase.
Is Wolcen more successful than PoE now? Path of Exile can still be played through its own launcher, and unlike Wolcen, there is a version for PS4 and Xbox One. These player numbers are not included. Only on Steam has PoE been surpassed by Wolcen.
Just a Gap Filler?
Why is the action RPG so popular despite its problems? Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem currently fills a gap. Nothing much is happening in Diablo 3 aside from the relatively similar seasons. Diablo 4 is still far from release.
As an alternative, there is Path of Exile, which is quite demanding and complex and may not suit everyone.
Wolcen has slipped into this gap between Diablo 3 and Path of Exile. It looks fantastic, with its dark aesthetics reminiscent of Diablo 4, and plays significantly easier than PoE.
However, Wolcen must not only show that it can quickly address its problems but also that it can keep players engaged in the long term and is not just a gap filler.
Can you relate to the success of Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem? Are you enjoying the action RPG?
