FF14 player count reached the lowest point in 4 years. We lost 75% of the playerbase.

[Catwho]

I'd suppose the drop to be more because Steam players can only play one game at a time through the Steam interface, and a lot of interesting single-player games came out over the last six months.

This here is one reason why I'd vouch that the Steam playerbase has a slight demographic difference from the rest of the PC playerbase. I don't play on my PC via Steam and I usually only play one game at a time, period. I am not constantly being tempted by other video games. If I do get a new release, it's going to be on my PS5, and I'll disappear for a few weeks to play it before returning to FFXIV. (I still need to finish out achievements in Rebirth.)

People who play on Steam are likely using that platform because they like a variety of different video games. Not that non-steam players don't like a variety of games, but there's a big reason I never bothered even making a Steam account. I'm not tempted by sales for games I don't intend to play.

[BigCheez]

I'd suppose the drop to be more because Steam players can only play one game at a time through the Steam interface, and a lot of interesting single-player games came out over the last six months.

How does this differ from other platforms?

This here is one reason why I'd vouch that the Steam playerbase has a slight demographic difference from the rest of the PC playerbase. I don't play on my PC via Steam and I usually only play one game at a time, period. I am not constantly being tempted by other video games. If I do get a new release, it's going to be on my PS5, and I'll disappear for a few weeks to play it before returning to FFXIV. (I still need to finish out achievements in Rebirth.)

People who play on Steam are likely using that platform because they like a variety of different video games. Not that non-steam players don't like a variety of games, but there's a big reason I never bothered even making a Steam account. I'm not tempted by sales for games I don't intend to play.

I legitimately don't know anyone who plays FFXIV on PC and doesn't use Steam for other games. The only difference between Steam FFXIV players and SE Store FFXIV players is that the SE Store players prefer to manage their installation for MMOs with their own launchers outside of Steam.

[Catwho]

How does this differ from other platforms?

I legitimately don't know anyone who plays FFXIV on PC and doesn't use Steam for other games.

Congratulations, you now know one person, it's me. I use the PS5 for my other games.

[Connor]

Not to dismiss previous discussion but I feel like this might (partially) be a ‘it’s not that deep bro’ situation lol.

Like does there really have to be a reason why people choose console/steam/whatever? Like I’ve always used console / PSwhatever, but it’s not really for any other reason than it’s what I’ve always have. If I’d had PC’s in the place of those consoles, I’d probably be using Steam or something else, since again it’d be like ‘well I’m already using this for everything else’ lol.

Again that’s not to say ‘the argument is over because they didn’t really think about it all’ lol, but I do think it’s worth considering that at least some players just kind of ‘end up’ using console/steam/etc rather than making ‘a fully informed choice’ lol. It might not be always be a ‘deliberate’ choice

[Ath192]

Not to dismiss previous discussion but I feel like this might (partially) be a ‘it’s not that deep bro’ situation lol.

Like does there really have to be a reason why people choose console/steam/whatever? Like I’ve always used console / PSwhatever, but it’s not really for any other reason than it’s what I’ve always have. If I’d had PC’s in the place of those consoles, I’d probably be using Steam or something else, since again it’d be like ‘well I’m already using this for everything else’ lol.

Again that’s not to say ‘the argument is over because they didn’t really think about it all’ lol, but I do think it’s worth considering that at least some players just kind of ‘end up’ using console/steam/etc rather than making ‘a fully informed choice’ lol. It might not be always be a ‘deliberate’ choice

Don't tell them that. Their entire argument falls apart because all they can do is desperately cling to the idea it is that deep so they can deny reality.

[Clockworks]

Congratulations, you now know one person, it's me. I use the PS5 for my other games.

"You know one person, here I am, it's me !!!"

[BigCheez]

Not to dismiss previous discussion but I feel like this might (partially) be a ‘it’s not that deep bro’ situation lol.

Like does there really have to be a reason why people choose console/steam/whatever? Like I’ve always used console / PSwhatever, but it’s not really for any other reason than it’s what I’ve always have. If I’d had PC’s in the place of those consoles, I’d probably be using Steam or something else, since again it’d be like ‘well I’m already using this for everything else’ lol.

Again that’s not to say ‘the argument is over because they didn’t really think about it all’ lol, but I do think it’s worth considering that at least some players just kind of ‘end up’ using console/steam/etc rather than making ‘a fully informed choice’ lol. It might not be always be a ‘deliberate’ choice

I would assume there is a reason that every player decided whether to buy through Steam or directly from SE but I don't think that reason has any impact on how likely a player is to stop playing the game. It's just a combination of people being contrarians and/or feeling oddly compelled to run damage control for the devs.

We literally have the data. The reduction in players on Steam aligns with the numbers from the Lucky Bancho report. Steam players aren't dropping the game at a higher rate than the rest of the playerbase.

[gw1fan]

Let's take your side a little bit here and take JP out. Whether JP is underrepresented or not is inconsequential to the game failing imho. If the game is not successful in NA, where I understand the largest population of this game resides, the game isn't successful period. NA has traditionally been the most lucrative market for this MMO and losing its biggest chunk of users isn't good for SE. The caveat here is that I don't believe JP players are all that happy or too different from steam users personally. But it's just a suspicion, so we'll leave em out.

More importantly, for us NA players, it's all we care about. If the game fails here we couldn't care less where else it went to be successful. It is the end for us.

I appreciate your clarification, thank you. I am also of the mind that the numbers ultimately don't matter to the players, they are the domain of the company which may or may not matter to you depending on how you think the company will react to those numbers. The players only know what the see and feel. The actual lived experience with the game, and I believe you are all valid for your frustrations. Change is slow, whether due to how the development is structured or how priorities are identified and organized. I may not share your frustrations, but I believe they are valid.

I want to draw attention to the mention about how the estimated percentage drop in the NA population is expected and within normal limits to previous population counts through Lucky Bancho. NA and EU have always had the most fluctuations from the beginning, possibly by the differing attitudes toward online games in comparison to JP (see Josh Strife Hayes video "Why Modern MMOs Suck - Josh Strife Hayes Reacts"). This has been the norm every expansion, the only exception being the post Shadowbringers cycle during the pandemic. I speculate the gradual drop off after EW was due to this too, given the influx of NA players during the WoW scandal. It is my belief that Yoshida knows this truth about the MMO genre and has continued the development with the philosophy "if we focus on making something people will want to play, then they will play it". From my understanding, retention has been of little concern to them for a long time, which people are valid to criticize.

I've been playing for a long time, since 2.0. I have known the loneliness of being the only person online for months on end over and over. Friends would come back for two weeks only to leave again. I accepted that I can't force them to play. No one can force them to play. Even if there are things they want to do in the game, they still don't play because their attention is elsewhere or they can't afford it. But they do eventually come back, even if for just a short while. NA has proven it will return when the mood suits them.

[Kohashi]

My "toxic waste rage" ? Lmao, the only person toxic here is you.

You are like most people in this forum who do nothing but rage, yet you are subbed almost every single month. Let me just say, boo f-ing hoo.

[Hallarem]

I think if we all switched to Sony, and bought playstations we would become true fans. Then FFXIV could be Ps5 exclusive and we could support Sony in their future. I think its time for players to chip in.
That way all the mods would dissapear too. Do it SE! I think its the best fix!

I think pc fans are fake fans of FF-franchise in the end. Sorry to hit with reality. But we can still become better as a community and support ffxiv to become great.

Remember to smile and donate to SE anyway you can. Merch sales help! I hope they monetize more so we can get more channels to help. We want to help!