Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Proves That Niche Is Now Mainstream

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Deliverance 2 kicked off strongly, attracting close to 160,000 players simultaneously on Steam at its launch. This number climbed to over 256,000 players during the weekend. This impressive debut places it among the top single-player games in terms of concurrent player numbers on Steam’s history.

Despite the complex and immersive mechanics of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which include realistic sleep cycles, darkness navigation, and precise combat, it’s not what one would typically associate with a mass-market success. However, against all expectations, it has become incredibly popular. This suggests that there is a significant audience for games that offer a more challenging and realistic experience, even if they require more attention and skill to play.

Player Tastes Are Changing

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s success is especially interesting in the wake of Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s failure. One is constantly challenging you and the other is constantly catering to you. One is extremely specific in its writing and the other is extremely generic. One has mechanics you will absolutely need to turn to Google (or top-mob.com’s guides! Hint hint!) in order to understand and the other is a cookie cutter action game with some light roleplay.

For quite some time, it appeared as if role-playing games (RPGs) like The Veilguard were shaping up to be the standard in gaming, or put another way, the industry was moving towards making everything into an RPG. This transformation became particularly evident with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, where experience points significantly influenced the long-term multiplayer experience. This key aspect of the RPG genre’s genetic makeup had effectively been integrated into gaming as a whole. Shooter games, sports games, action games, and puzzle games were all designed with the idea of continuous progression in mind. Simultaneously, classic RPG series and developers were adopting mainstream action gameplay. For instance, Fallout transitioned into a first-person shooter (FPS), Final Fantasy evolved into an action RPG, and BioWare began focusing on action combat with Mass Effect and the Dragon Age games post-Origins.

Over time, action games evolved to incorporate elements of Role-Playing Games (RPGs), while RPGs started adopting characteristics of action games. This convergence occurred in the midpoint between the two genres. Initially, God of War was an action game, and Final Fantasy was a turn-based RPG. However, by the early 2020s, we saw games like God of War and Final Fantasy that played remarkably similarly to one another.

Surprise! RPG Fans Want RPGs

As a devoted RPG enthusiast with years under my belt, I can empathize if this strikes a nerve. If you, like me, found solace in strategic battles, crafting characters, agonizing over stat distribution, and grappling with moral dilemmas, today’s mainstream RPGs might seem lacking. The genre’s recent lean left has created a void, which independent developers are eager to fill with games that delve into the intricate details of role-playing.

In the 2020s, these past few years have seen some notable PC game launches. Specifically, Elden Ring, Baldur’s Gate 3, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 have been among the most significant. These games are known for their immersive mechanics and demanding nature of players. Additionally, they all offer a substantial amount of freedom when it comes to shaping your character, whether through dialogue options, gameplay style, or a combination of both.

These features make games enduringly popular, and as game development spans over five years or more, such evergreen appeal becomes crucial for developers. Launching a game like Baldur’s Gate 3, which maintains over 100,000 concurrent players even in its third year, offers a vital lifeline during the development process. Games can either captivate audiences through continuous updates (live-service design) or offer such rich content that players continue to return for more. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, by providing extensive depth, has achieved this and, like many successful RPGs in recent times, is seeing significant returns on its investment.

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2025-02-12 21:05