New World reached its last peak in October 2023 with around 77,000 players on Steam. However, currently, the MMORPG is struggling with decreasing player numbers – more than usual. This does not necessarily have to be an alarming sign that the game is setting a negative record.
How many players are currently playing New World? Since the game is only available on Steam, player numbers can be directly viewed on sites like SteamDB. There it shows that New World is setting a new negative record:
- In October 2023, there were around 77,000 players that the expansion “Rise of the Angry Earth” could attract to the game. After that, the player numbers fell consistently.
- In the last 24 hours, there were only 12,893 players on Steam.
- Normally, New World settles between its autumn peaks at 20,000 to 30,000 players over a 24-hour period. For comparison: About a year ago, there were 32,988 players.
- Since its release, this is a loss of 98.5% of all players. At its peak in October 2021, there were a total of 913,000 players in New World.
This marks the first time that interest in New World is declining more sharply than usual. However, there could be several plausible reasons why players are suddenly leaving New World, but might return at a later date.
Currently, there is an eternal frost in New World:
New World has lost many players, but some are returning
What could be the reason? On one hand, most players are likely done with the expansion “Rise of the Angry Earth”. Even if they were only able to play the DLC over the holidays at the end of the year, the last bits are probably now completed. Players may now be dedicating their time to other games.
On the other hand, the new season “Season of the Guardian” starts on March 12. Many players might be taking a break to catch the start of Season 5. It is common in many MMORPGs for things to slow down during the transition of a season.
New World has shown in the past that there are phases each year where player numbers fluctuate between higher and lower counts. Currently, it is simply a seasonal phase in which fewer players are visiting the MMORPG.
Is this the downfall for New World? Since the development team has big plans for 2024, we expect that the core players will also return in 2024. Therefore, New World will also be able to show higher player numbers in 2024.
By fall 2024, New World will have its annual peak again and enjoy players returning to Aeternum. The MMORPG is unlikely to gain many new players, but the loyal player base will likely remain for a longer time.
For this reason, we would not predict that New World will pull the plug in 2024. By March 2024, the numbers will rise again thanks to Season 5. After all, there are new features like the long-requested controller support: The MMORPG New World offers a feature in the new season that the developers had previously not recommended
