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

[Exmo]

I wonder what happened during SHB that kept people at home for 3 years....

What could it POSSIBLY be..... Hm....

Shadowbringers was released July 2019, well before the first lockdowns hit, and received critical acclaim well before its popularity boon later into the patch cycle. It's safe to assume a two year lead into each expansion, so the decision to focus less on Garlemald probably occurred over a year before the Lockdown+Exodus numbers came in.

With that established, those who compare current numbers against Lockdown+Exodus numbers would have us believe this is a fair comparison, as if external factors are consistent and equal. Which they obviously aren't. It's much more coherent to compare current numbers against StB and early patch ShB numbers. With that in perspective, thread titles like this one are clearly just bait.