The survival MMO Population Zero was released about a year ago on Steam and aimed to revolutionize the genre. However, the website has now been deactivated and the client can no longer be started via Steam. Everything indicates that it has been quietly shut down.
What kind of game was it? Population Zero was a survival game from the Russian developer Enplex, reminiscent visually and gameplay-wise of a mix between No Man’s Sky and Last Oasis.
The MMO aimed to shake up the survival genre with some interesting ideas:
- There were various game modes, including a pure PvE mode as well as PvP
- Each mode offered short sessions (usually 2 to 7 days), after which everything was reset and partly new regulations were established
- Within the cycle, you could complete tasks and unlock permanent progress for the account, including new modes
- If you died often in a mode, you became the Over-Alien and had a final attempt to complete your tasks. If you failed as the Over-Alien, the round was over for you
On the official website for the game the MMO advertised with the “redesign of the survival genre” referring mainly to the short sessions and the general gameplay loop. This image shows how it looked:
What has happened now? The website for Population Zero cannot currently be accessed. Moreover, since mid-March, the client can no longer be opened via Steam (via MMORPG.org.pl) and the Discord server for the game no longer exists.
Everything indicates that the survival MMO has been quietly discontinued. This is not a big surprise, as we reported back in August 2020 that player numbers were slowly but surely heading towards 0:
Survival MMO Population Zero lives up to its name – it truly has almost 0 players
Technical issues, low player base, and lack of motivation
What caused the MMO to fail? In itself, Population Zero had some good approaches, including action-packed fights, various game modes, a story, and a perk system for equipment.
But even at launch, there were numerous problems:
- Important social features were missing, such as a group system, guilds, or even the ability to play with friends
- There were technical issues like lags and server outages
- Furthermore, there were no settings options, including options for custom key mappings
- The tutorial was also criticized for providing far too little information
Although the developers promised quick improvements and also released a roadmap for the coming months, interest declined sharply.
At launch, there were “only” 2,170 concurrent players, which to this day represent the peak of the game. Already in June 2020, there were days when 0 players were online. The last post from the developers on Steam was in July.
The end had been foreseen, and we at MeinMMO predicted it at the beginning of the year: I predict: These 6 MMOs will die in 2021.
What are good alternatives? Even though the fewest of our readers are likely to miss Population Zero, we would still like to present some interesting survival alternatives.
One of the best games in the genre right now is Valheim. Here, you play as a Viking in a world inspired by Norse mythology. You can tame monsters, craft a lot, build houses, and challenge tough boss enemies. The graphics are somewhat unconventional. Valheim can be played alone, but also cooperatively.
If you prefer to hang out with other players on open servers, you can check out the enduring classics Rust or Ark: Survival Evolved.
We have put together an overview of the best survival games here: The 25 best survival games 2021 for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
