In February 2023, Wild Hearts was released for PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. This was supposed to be a new service game for EA, an action RPG like Monster Hunter. Although the reviews at release were decent, the game could not generate hype. The high price of €80 and performance issues on PC were criticized. Player numbers on Steam have since plummeted. Now, EA is allegedly discontinuing the game.
What kind of game is Wild Hearts?
- Wild Hearts was heavily inspired by “Monster Hunter”: Players hunt massive monsters in an alien world.
- For hunting, players use 8 different weapons such as katanas and rely on items they can craft.
- The hope of the developers Omega Force (Koei Tecmo) was that Wild Hearts would become a new game series that would continue for a long time, similar to Dynasty Warriors.
Good reviews at release, but little interest and much criticism
How was the game received at release? The reviews were relatively positive, averaging around 80%. Even MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus found great enjoyment in Wild Hearts.
However, many players criticized the price of €80, which was considered too high. From many, one heard at release, “they were waiting for a sale.”
Technical flaws in the PC version were also criticized. Even the first patches could not resolve the performance issues on PC.
It was also noticeable that EA failed to draw gamers’ attention to the game in any way. Wild Hearts received little visibility on Twitch at release: A sign that the launch of the game went largely unnoticed.
Player numbers on Steam fall dramatically – EA still wants €42 for Wild Hearts
How has the game developed after release? Player numbers on Steam were never particularly good and have fallen dramatically:
- 28,475 players had Wild Hearts at its peak in February 2023.
- By April, there were only a maximum of 3,692 players.
- In the last 30 days, there were a peak of 297 players online simultaneously.
Several updates have been released that brought new monsters: But the last patch came on July 13, which is already 2 months ago.
The game still currently costs €42, with reviews on Steam at 48%.
“EA has pulled the plug”
This is now the news: A user on reddit says, in typical EA fashion and as many expected, EA has “pulled the plug,” meaning the development of Wild Hearts has ceased. He is a moderator of a Discord and learned this from insider sources.
He wants to announce this news now before the official news hits people.
It is said that EA expected to have its own Monster Hunter, but when success did not materialize, they showed no patience.
As a consolation, the Reddit user says that Monster Hunter 6 will likely be announced next week at a gaming fair in Tokyo.
How credible is this? This news has not been officially confirmed. US media have initiated inquiries with EA. We will update our articles as soon as an official statement from EA is available.
Currently, EA is still selling Wild Hearts at a 40% discount on Steam.
But given the current player numbers, it seems likely that not much will happen with Wild Hearts anymore.
Wild Hearts got lost in the hype of Hogwarts Legacy
What’s behind this: Wild Hearts started under no good star: Especially the price tag scared many away, and the poor performance on PC didn’t help either. EA’s reputation for ending service games early did not help the game either.
Additionally, there was a lack of willingness or conviction from EA to spend a lot of money on marketing for Wild Hearts to establish it as a brand.
Even at release, some users from MeinMMO said they had not heard anything about the game and that “Wild Hearts” sounded more like a dating simulation than a monster hunt.
In February 2023, it seemed that not many potential buyers had waited for Wild Hearts: The gaming world was mainly talking about Hogwarts Legacy, which was released on February 10, 2023, exactly one week before Wild Hearts.
After release, attention for Wild Hearts quickly dwindled, and only a small core group continued to discuss the game, who found enjoyment in it and still genuinely liked it today. But even these players have a strong alternative in “Monster Hunter.”
The story of Wild Hearts strongly resembles that of Anthem: EA also wanted to create its own version of a successful service game with the “Everyone is Iron Man” shooter from BioWare, but when success was not achieved, development was halted swiftly and the plug was pulled.
For service games, continuous development, communication with fans, and a constant “media buzz” around a game are essential. If a service game disappears from the public eye early, it is not a good sign:
EA officially ends work on Anthem and the rework
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