Albion Online is currently celebrating record numbers of players. But why is the MMORPG, which was released in 2017, successful right now? And what can other PvP games learn from Albion?
How many players does Albion have? According to a new graphic released by the developers from Sandbox Interactive, Albion Online currently has around 125,000 daily players. That is a significant number that is also steadily growing.
Just at the beginning of July, it was only just over 90,000; in March 2019, the game had only a fraction of these numbers, namely around 10,000 players.
In recent years, Albion Online has changed a lot and made many decisions that have benefited the MMORPG. Although it primarily focuses on PvP and even includes full loot, the numbers are continuously rising.
We at MeinMMO will tell you how the game has changed, why it is successful now, and what the future holds.
Switch to Free2Play and good updates brought new momentum
How did the turnaround come about? Originally, Albion Online was released as a Buy2Play title. In the beginning, it generated a lot of attention and struggled to handle the influx of players. However, the Buy2Play entry barrier and many design decisions in favor of PvE players initially caused a decline in player numbers.
Even the Steam release in May 2018 did not result in a significant increase in player numbers.
In April 2019, however, the MMORPG switched to Free2Play and immediately gained a large number of newcomers. These were retained and even significantly increased because previous updates and those directly after the switch brought important content for both PvE and PvP fans.
Updates for all player groups create a positive atmosphere
What did these updates look like? In November 2018, the “Nimue” patch was released and brought new guild content, including a 5v5 GvG mode. The update generated a lot of positive feedback and strengthened the PvP community.
Together with the switch to Free2Play, the Oberon update brought randomized dungeons. These appear randomly in the game world and are randomly generated. They are easier in safe areas, while in high PvP zones they count as harder content and become more challenging. Additionally, with Oberon, the entry point and tutorial were improved.
We at MeinMMO also tried out this new entry experience:
In July 2019, new content was added to the game, mainly targeting PvE fans and solo players. Thus, solo dungeons and new fashion and styling content were introduced.
With the Queen update at the beginning of 2020, the entire endgame was overhauled:
- The Outlands (endgame zones) were completely redesigned
- Guild hideouts were introduced
- Zergs were somewhat weakened
- 5v5 battles were improved
This satisfied both guild and PvP fans.
The latest update “Rise of Avalon” brought a new zone and cursed dungeons where players can also attack and ambush each other. Additionally, the game was localized into Korean and Chinese to reach new markets.
How is Albion currently rated? In the last 30 days, Albion Online received 1,989 reviews on Steam. 80% of them are positive. The praised aspects include:
- The small client size
- The good performance, even on weak PCs
- Diverse content in the form of dungeons, crafting, and PvP
- The game embraces “Easy to learn, hard to master”
- It is easy for newcomers to catch up with veterans because there is a maximum gear and due to full loot, it can also be lost
- There is a large number of players and guilds to play with.
Negative aspects, on the other hand, are:
- Much grind
- Ganking by large guilds, which is frustrating
- Scamming by isolated guilds taking advantage of newcomers
Therefore, anyone who really wants to have fun with Albion Online needs a penchant for PvP and frustration tolerance, as well as the ability to cope with the graphics and gameplay. In any case, Albion is one of the most successful MMORPGs of the last 5 years:
Mobile release and area expansions planned
What does the future hold for Albion Online? As the developers revealed in the blog post, the Royal continent is set to be expanded. Due to the growth in players, the old zones are currently overcrowded, and the developers want to alleviate this while also improving the player experience.
Additionally, the release of the mobile versions is planned. Although they were intended to be released since launch, and Android users can already download a version outside of the Play Store, it was now emphasized again that the release for the Apple and Google Stores is imminent.
It is quite possible that Albion will continue to grow with the mobile release.
But Albion Online is by no means a peaceful MMORPG. It can also get quite dirty, as this player shows, who worked his way up to an officer in a guild, only to then coldly rob them.
