The digital card game Artifact is the first game from hit factory Valve in five years. But it has problems gaining a foothold on Steam. The rival of Hearthstone stumbles at launch.
Artifact is the first game from Valve in 5 years. In 2013, the studio behind the PC platform Steam released a MOBA with DOTA 2. In 2018, Artifact was launched.
But those expecting a hit like CS: GO, Portal, or Half-Life will likely be disappointed at least at launch.
This is Artifact: Artifact is a digital card game similar to Hearthstone or Magic. However, it is played on multiple lanes, making it seem quite complicated.
How Artifact is performing so far: Artifact had about 60,000 peak players on Steam on launch day, November 28. But since then, the numbers have significantly declined. On December 6, only about 25,000 players were active from their Steam library.
The trend shows a downward trajectory, as Steamcharts reveals. The 24-hour peak now stands at 20,000. That means two-thirds of the players are gone.
What could the problems be?
- Artifact has a high entry barrier – The game costs $20 on Steam. Most competing games are free. However, Artifact advertises a “better” model for earning cards.
- Additionally, Artifact is relatively complicated – Since it is played on three lanes, it is hard to read. One needs to engage with it to understand what is happening.
- The market could be saturated – Furthermore, the market for card games is well-stocked with Hearthstone, the new Magic, Elder Scrolls Legends, and Gwent. Perhaps only a few were waiting for a new card game.
- Release hype is dying down – Also, the normal cycle of game releases could be playing a role. It is normal for a game to lose players after launch. It is important to see what level the player base settles at.
Artifact seems to be missing that certain something
This is what players say: On reddit, the news of the dwindling player base is discussed with interest.
It is said in the comments:
- While Artifact is fun, it is not as addictive as other games. It feels like a single-player game.
- Another adds that Artifact is deep but lacks a moment of “satisfaction” in the game.
- Yet another blames the extremely crowded market for Artifact’s difficulties. Between Halloween and Christmas, there are numerous sales, releases, bundles, and other promotions.
Now it remains to be seen at what level the player settles in Artifact. For the moment, it seems that Cortyn is right with his prognosis:
