New Frontier – Failed under a different name
Genre: Battle Royale | Developer: Intrepid Studios | Platform: PC | Release Date: December 27, 2019 | Model: Free2Play
What is New Frontier? New Frontier is the remake of the western MMO Wild West Online. In this sandbox MMO, you can go wild, follow or break the law, become a bounty hunter or mine for gold.
The game was heavily reminiscent of Red Dead Redemption 2 and was therefore criticized by players due to an unfinished version.
After a phase during which the game was discontinued, it returned in two versions:
- New Frontier includes the open world of the game
- Magnificent 5, on the other hand, is a battle royale featuring WWO
How is New Frontier currently doing? New Frontier started weakly on Steam. According to Steamcharts, less than 100 players played the MMO simultaneously on average in November and December. In the last 30 days, it was at least 115.
The reviews for the game are balanced, but a boring world and few tasks in the game are repeatedly criticized.
That’s why I believe New Frontier will die: The original version, Wild West Online, could not convince, even though players were eager for a Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC and thus a western game.
Now that RDR2 has been released for PC, it is unlikely that New Frontier can compete against it. Therefore, I expect the MMO to be discontinued in 2020.
Z1 Battle Royale – Searching for past success
Genre: Battle Royale | Developer: Daybreak | Platform: PC, PS4 | Release Date: February 28, 2018 | Model: Free2Play
What is Z1 Battle Royale? Z1, formerly known as H1Z1, is a free battle royale from Daybreak. The shooter was released in Early Access in 2015 and was initially quite successful. This is the success it wanted to return to.
To achieve this, the studio NantG took over the development and was supposed to make the shooter attractive for e-sports. However, this failed and Z1 is back with Daybreak.
How is Z1 currently doing? In 2017, up to 150,000 players played H1Z1 simultaneously at its peak. From these numbers, it is far away now. In December 2019, Z1 averaged just 248 players and peaked at 496, according to Steamcharts.
The reviews, which have been balanced in the last 30 days, criticize that the game is dead. Even the positive reviews mainly praise the idea, the old H1Z1, and the realism, rather than the game itself.
That’s why I believe Z1 will die in 2020: Z1 was once a successful game. However, the problems at Daybreak and the fact that other battle royale games are significantly more successful indicate that Z1 cannot return to its former glory.
If player numbers do not miraculously increase, even the last fans of the shooter will leave. PvP games need a healthy population. In my view, Z1 does not have that.
Legends of Aria – MMORPG with many problems
Genre: MMORPG | Developer: Citadel Studios | Platform: PC | Release Date: August 6, 2019 | Model: Free2Play
What is Legends of Aria? Legends of Aria is a sandbox MMORPG that is inspired by classic titles like Ultima Online.
Originally developed as Shards Online, it relied on community-created servers. Now there are also fixed worlds created by the developers. Nonetheless, players and modders can create their own worlds.
There was an outcry around the MMORPG when in February 2019 it was openly discussed about Pay2Win. In the developers’ eyes, it is “not the right way to avoid Pay2Win” for their game.
How is Legends of Aria currently doing? Since December, Legends of Aria has been Free2Play, but has only been able to benefit little from it on Steam. According to Steamcharts, in December an average of 175 players and a peak of 362 players logged in. A noticeable improvement compared to November, but not a flight to the skies.
On Steam, the MMORPG is rated fairly, although the PvP factor is often criticized. However, our readers on MeinMMO tend to be more negative. They write under this article:
- Eismeerjaeger: „I bought it last year in August. But I never warmed up to Legends of Aria. Didn’t play for 5 hours.”
- Kell: „What has changed? The server merge with many problems could be mentioned.”
- Alfredo: „Why don’t they just close it?”
That’s why I believe Legends of Aria will die in 2020: Admittedly, Legends of Aria is the game where I lean out the most. Because the core idea and the custom worlds sound excellent.
The user Stimwalt writes on Steam:
Most people who evaluate the game have no idea that it is actually a platform game. Community modders can create their own world within the Legends of Aria engine. And their games can be completely different from the official LoA. […]
And there are already servers […], which are based on the original ruleset and gameplay of Ultima Online. Players just have to go to the community tab after logging in and select “Legends of Ultima”.
This fact could be the reason why Legends of Aria survives in 2020.
However, I firmly believe that the developers’ pre-made game will not convince. This will not bind players long-term or successfully. Perhaps only the official servers will die, while modders can continue to work on their worlds.
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