Given the hype surrounding it prior to release, pretty much everyone expected Starfield to be a rousing success. However, most probably expected (hoped, even) it would have a healthy amount of staying power. But as recent stats show, Bethesda’s newest IP is experiencing a drop in popularity.
According to the data on SteamDB (as spotted by Rock Paper Shotgun), Starfield has fewer people playing the game right now than Skyrim. At the time of writing, the former is just shy of 14,000 concurrent players, while the latter has nearly 16,000 for the Special Edition alone.
Add onto that the 1,796 fans playing just regular Skyrim and we get a picture of just how much more engaging Bethesda’s 2011 epic RPG is.
It’s a tall order to beat Skyrim
Of course, given TES5‘s legacy – and having just celebrated 12 years – it’s a tough act to follow, even from the game’s own developer. Starfield launched to significant feedback, most of which was pretty glowing, but interest is definitely waning now.
Maybe this is a question of overhype. Often, video games struggle to match the expectations that people have, and some of the time, it’s the fault of the developer for pushing a product too hard (hello, No Man’s Sky).
That’s not to say Starfield is a bad game. It’s been nominated for Best RPG at this year’s The Game Awards, so it’s not exactly without merit or kudos. There’s just something about the fact that one of the most anticipated releases of this generation is seemingly losing its audience. And it’s only been out a couple of months.
