While free-to-play games exploding out of the gate is nothing new, the real test comes once the honeymoon phase is over. Will players stick with the game once its warts start showing up? Or will they abandon it for the next big thing?
Surprisingly, this one shooter released early this year managed to retain almost its entire player base, and that number is sure to rise soon, given it’s not even out on consoles yet.
Second Chapter In Beloved Shooter Franchise Is Completely Free On Steam
No strings attached, but only for a limited time.
This means that once the console versions are out, the current player count should be significantly larger given there are literally millions of console players across PS5 and Xbox Series X|S around the world.
F2P Shooter Impresses By Retaining Its Player Base Months After Release
Released for PC in December of last year, Team Jade’sDelta Forceis a new first-person military shooter that captured attention immediately with its large-scale warfare, reminiscent of Electronic Arts’Battlefieldfranchise.
The surprising thing? At launch, the shooter peaked at 161,000 players on Steam, which is understandable given it’s a new game and gamers want to try something new. Now that the new game experience is over, the game is still played by a large number of people every day.
OnSteam Charts, Delta Force’s current 24-hour peak is at 159,000+ players, with over 121,000 people playing it right now.
With the console version of Delta Forcenow locked for release in August, that number should exponentially rise.
Delta Force: 10 Best Budget Guns
What more could you ask for if they’re cheap and get the job done?
With Delta Force developed as a live-service game, Team Jade has consistently provided regular support, which likely explains why the player base has remained stable. You can also factor in that Delta Force is available on mobile, and it’s a game developed by a Chinese studio. Gamers in China often favor homegrown games.
Of course, there are a ton of free-to-play live-service games out there that failed to maintain their player base, so Team Jade is doing something right for sure. The studio hasannounced its biggest update to date, set to hit the shooter this July, which won’t only add a new operator but also new maps and gameplay features.
For comparison’s sake, one of the most popular free-to-play live service shooters released recently is NetEase’sMarvel Rivals. While it stormed out of the gate, hitting an all-time player peak of over 600,000 on Steam, it failed to maintain that momentum, with the game not even breaking 100,000 players daily, according toSteam Charts.
That doesn’t mean Marvel Rivals is a failure, since it’s far from it, but it just goes to show how hard it is to retain players, given that there are new games released every week, and each one is vying for everyone’s limited gaming time.
Outside ofFortnite, every F2P game usually has problems retaining its player base, andeven Call of Dutystruggles.
With this development, I’m excited to see howthe console release of Delta Forcewill factor into the game’s overall health.
Delta Force: 10 Best Guns Ranked
Know the best guns to use in the Ranked mode in Delta Force. The guns make a difference in head-on fights, so choose the ones that suit your playstyle
