The numbers on Steam have increased due to the coronavirus. This applies not only generally to the platform but also specifically to MMORPGs. We looked at the titles that have benefited the most from the situation.
What is the current situation on Steam? The coronavirus has led to record numbers on Steam in terms of concurrent users. This is because many more people are spending their time at home and can do less outside their own four walls.
This also benefits MMORPGs, with almost all titles being able to increase their numbers on Steam. The special thing about it is that most of these games rely on their own clients and were not initially released on Steam but later to become more accessible to the general public.
The total player numbers are likely to be significantly higher for almost all titles, especially since some also released versions for PS4 and Xbox One.
What is the situation for MMORPGs on Steam? The reddit user latin_latina created a graphic listing most MMORPGs available on Steam.
The image also shows the percentage development of the game. It compares the data from the last 30 days (from March 23 to April 21) with the previous 30 days.
This provides a good insight into the current trends.
We took a closer look at the 6 most successful games on this list and will tell you how the player numbers have developed exactly and whether something special has happened recently.
The numbers refer to the values from the website Steamcharts.
ESO is particularly strong, benefiting from Free Week
With an increase of nearly 71% in player numbers, The Elder Scrolls Online made the biggest jump on Steam.
What is the reason? This is primarily because the MMORPG was free for two weeks at the beginning of April. As part of this action, ESO even set a new record on Steam with 49,061 concurrent players at peak. Over the last 30 days, an average of 27,217 players played.
ESO has already been on an upward trend for some time. In February, we reported that the MMORPG could increase alongside its competitor Black Desert on Steam.
One reason may be the upcoming expansion Greymoor, which focuses on the world of Skyrim, one of the most popular role-playing games of all time. Experts from GameStar rank Skyrim 3rd among the 100 best role-playing games of all time.
HDRO reaches strongest numbers since 2013
The old classic The Lord of the Rings Online has also increased significantly in percentage terms. The nearly 40% sounds impressive, but in March overall, the MMORPG increased by 62.2%.
While in February an average of 565 players played per day, it was 1,270 in the last 30 days. This is the best value since April 2013.
What is the reason? One possible reason for the boom could be the action where all expansions are playable for free until April 30. This saves a lot of money or In-game playtime. Additionally, the MMORPG took advantage of the situation and held events such as an XP boost during this time.
The developers of the MMORPG also state that they have plans for more than 20 years of content for The Lord of the Rings Online. So it is quite possible that the game will accompany us for several more years.
TERA grows and reaches the level of 2018
In 3rd place, the popular action MMORPG TERA is following, which saw an average of 1,254 players in the last 30 days, resulting in an increase of 38.73%.
With this, the game achieves its strongest value since May 2018 and overall the sixth best month since its release on Steam.
How is TERA doing? Even 8 years after release, TERA is being actively developed. At the beginning of 2019, the level cap was raised from 65 to 70. A lot has happened in the endgame over the last year. Included was a new continent with zones, quests, and bosses.
The game is currently making headlines for wanting to make loot boxes more transparent with exact percentages (via Krafton). Whether this will also come to the EU version is currently unknown.
Losers despite Corona? BDO seems to have fewer players
What is wrong with Black Desert? Despite the boom in MMORPGs, there are also losers who have lost players.
The sandbox MMORPG is one of three titles that have lost players in the last 30 days. With an average of 23,694 players, Black Desert is one of the strongest MMOs on Steam.
Is this really a decline? The slight player decrease of 1.12% is mainly due to the fact that Black Desert held a free weekend event, but at the beginning of March. Compared to February when the MMORPG averaged 15,032 players daily, BDO has also increased.
If you are currently looking for a game you can play for free, we have compiled the 13 best Free2Play MMORPGs. Among these are also some titles that you can play via Steam.
