After Diablo Immortal, Lost Ark remains at the top of Steam Charts.
Lost Ark is a South Korean loot game that Diablo inspired. It has not seen much of an increase in sales even though it released a new title in its predecessor series. As I write this, the game is at the top of the Steam charts with a deep first-place finish. Lost Ark has surpassed Dota 2 and Counter-Strike Global Offensive in total player count. All are free-to-play established hits.
This is based on Steam charts and steamDB. Both tools are not perfect. It is especially not valid if you depend on it for particular numbers. Both can gauge how popular and similar games are on PC. These numbers become more complicated with Game Pass and other stores competing with the digital juggernaut.
These numbers don’t include Diablo Immortal to compare. This is the first full-length new game from Blizzard Entertainment since Overwatch 2016. It is available on the Battle.net launcher. This is the home of World of Warcraft, and… uh… Call of Duty. You will find all significant multiplayer releases of the troubled (more precise) publisher Activision–Blizzard.
Diablo Immortal can also be used on smartphones; Lost Ark is not. Not yet, at least not natively. This means that Diablo Immortal is not comparable to Lost Ark. Both games seem to be doing well, I am sure. It’s fascinating that both games can exist without seeing a noticeable drop in players. It is clear that people still are hungry for action RPGs.
It’s pretty interesting to see Lost Ark beating Counter-Strike and Dota2 weight classes. These games are Valve Corporation originals. After years of receiving top billing on its platform, they have a deep player base. The relative newcomers have been hovering at the top one, two, and three spots on Steam for quite some time.
Diablo Immortal was probably the best time to launch it despite the lukewarm announcement. Expected scrutiny is being drawn to the game’s free-to-play hooks. From what I have seen, the game is quite fun. However, I am not sure if I would trade my copy of Diablo3 on Switch. There seems to be plenty of market for ARPGs right now.
Although it isn’t doing as well on Steam, Path of Exile has enjoyed a strong performance. This may be due to its most recent free expansion, Sentinel. It is worth noting that Path of Exile can be played on consoles. This means its playerbase is a little more diverse.
Grinding Gear Games is working on a mobile version of its “experimental” game. This is not a separate title, unlike Diablo Immortal. It sounds more or less like the existing PC and console games with updated controls and a user interface. It promises that there will be no pay-to-win elements. This aligns with the standard Path of Exile, which restricts itself to selling cosmetic items only using actual money transactions. Diablo Immortal and Lost Ark don’t.
“Cosmetics” may be the reason Lost Ark is so famous. However, it’s still in a bleak world like its major competitors. But, it is flashy. The action is very clear from the top, and the character creator gives you some beautiful avatars. It’s likely a good thing, considering how often you see their mugs on the game or any loot-based blaster-em up.
The future will show Lost Ark if it has the substance to sustain its style over time. It’s still interesting to see a little revival in the ARPG genre. It’s not something I am mad about, though.
