In MMORPGs The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) and Black Desert , player numbers are surprisingly increasing on Steam in January 2020. Black Desert at least added a class, but nothing happened in ESO. What is behind this rise?
What do the Steam numbers indicate: The Steam numbers for ESO and Black Desert should be taken with caution. Both games are available on PS4, Xbox One and have their own PC launchers.
Therefore, the absolute player numbers on Steam are not very conclusive, but the trend indicates whether the two MMORPGs are currently hot or rather cold.
Because it can be assumed: As the player numbers behave on Steam, so they behave on the other platforms.
ESO has had the most players on Steam since June 2019
This is how it looks for ESO: The online role-playing game from Zenimax saw a 23% increase in January 2020. Since the numbers also rose in December and November 2019, ESO is in a good position like it hasn’t been for a long time.
With an average of 15,417 players, The Elder Scrolls Online currently has as many players as during the release of the major expansion Elsweyr. It was released on May 20, 2019; the surge in player numbers from the Khajiit expansion was still noticeable in June 2019.
The percentage increase of 23.6% was the largest increase in player numbers on Steam since June 2018. At that time, the Summerset expansion had just been released on PC (on May 21).
Player numbers of ESO increase year by year on Steam
Where does this increase come from? Not much has changed in the game itself in January 2020, however, ESO introduced the new expansion “Greymoor” this month and promised significant performance improvements for February 2020. Additionally, the event for the Undaunted took place in ESO.
The Steam reviews have been more positive in the last 30 days than usual. In January 2020, 87% of the reviews were positive, overall it was 79%. The Steam reviews indicate that ESO players appreciate the quests and stories in the MMORPG.
ESO has shown a consistent upward trend on Steam since March 2015, which appears to be strengthening year by year. In May 2019, ESO reached its highest number of players on Steam to date.
Also in 2020, this trend seems set to continue. One can be curious to see if Greymoor will reach new heights.
New class boosts Black Desert
What about Black Desert? Black Desert had its best month on Steam since May 2019 in January 2020.
With an increase of 31%, significantly more players played the MMORPG in January than in December. The percentage increase of 31% is the largest ever for Black Desert on Steam.
Where does this increase come from? In January, the new class “Gardia” was released in Black Desert. Traditionally, this causes an increase in player numbers, as people want to try and level up the new class.
The new class Gardia, a type of Berserker in fur stiletto, seems to be well received and triggers an increase in player numbers. The last release of a new class, the rather unusual Shai, did not initiate such an increase in player numbers on Steam in June 2016. The Shai, designed as a “social class”, was probably too quirky for that.
Also, in Black Desert the Steam reviews in the last 30 days have been more positive than throughout its entire duration, although there have been recurring criticisms regarding the randomness aspect in item upgrades.
Current MMORPGs are apparently doing better than many like to believe
This is what’s behind it: Black Desert and ESO are examples that MMORPG players are currently bound to the “established, large MMORPGs”.
This is likely also due to the fact that no new MMORPGs have been released in the West for years that could achieve long-term success. The existing MMORPGs therefore have more room to grow. Current MMORPGs are doing better than many doomsayers like to proclaim.
We have presented the most promising new MMORPGs for 2020 here.
