The publisher of life simulation game inZoi has responded to criticism aimed against them of declining players on Steam. They argued that their sales performance is a better indicator of success than concurrent users.
Strong Launch Numbers Tell Different Story
When inZoi first landed on Steam it had ambitious plans as a rival to Sims – and its numbers didn’t disappoint either. As per reports, the game peaked at nearly 87,400 concurrent players. The publisher of game Krafton celebrated on crossing one million sales in just seven days, making it the fastest-selling game. In 40 minutes from launch, inZoi reached the number one position in Steam’s revenue-based bestseller ranking.
A launch day statement from CEO CH Kim said Krafton hopes to develop inZoi into a lasting franchise property. At first, it all looked set to come true.
Current Player Activity Raises Questions
But recent data show a substantial change in player engagement. The maximum number of concurrent players has fallen to roughly 1,500 users daily, a substantial drop from launch. InZoi’s player count surveyed lower than The Sims 3 which was more than 16 years older than it at that time.
The big drop in users has got gamers talking on whether the game will stick around for long in the life-sim genre.
Publisher Defends Performance Metrics
Krafton, in response to the disconcerting trend mentioned by the reporters, shared that concurrent player stats don’t reflect inZoi’s real performance. The company said that sales are strong and steady and that this matters more for single-player experiences.
According to a Krafton representative, inZoi continues to generate steady revenue and measuring success by additional sales during major update milestones is a more suitable judgement than Steam’s concurrent user numbers.
Industry Perspective on Player Count Obsession
This debate suggests debates in the industry about what success looks like in gaming. “I addressed the more pressing issue of the roof when I made my comments,” he said. “The roof is actually more concerning.”
John Buckley, the community manager of Palworld, has already slammed the games industry for branding games “dead” based only on player count statistics, something he believes is damaging to both game developers and players. The production director of Helldivers 2, Alex Bolle, sees Steam concurrent users as just one of many metrics that make up a game’s success.
Early Access Development Continues
Krafton also noted that inZoi was an Early Access title, meaning it wasn’t fully released yet. The development team is focusing on gathering community feedback. At the same time, they are continuing to work on the game. They are adding new features, improving performance, and creating better content.
Thanks to the inZoi community and the developers, the publisher will publish content updates over the months as the game is developing towards a full release.
Expanding Platform Availability
Moving forward, Krafton made the announcement to bring inZoi to customers using Mac by August via Mac App Store and Steam. The Mac version will be optimized for the latest macOS on Apple Silicon chips. It will use MetalFX and Core ML to deliver gameplay similar to the Windows version.
Community Reception Reflects Mixed Feelings
Steam currently shows “Mostly Positive” rating for all reviews, but since the recent reviews came in it has turned “Mixed”. This trend usually reflects the experience of early adopters who have been happy but more recent players might be experiencing different levels of satisfaction with the game now.
inZoi is the early access title, which means the game should keep the players engaged while it is still being developed. The mixed reviews of late suggest that some players might possibly be waiting for more content and bettering the experience.
The ongoing dispute over inZoi’s metrics demonstrates how the most popular success indicators may not be appropriate for a single-player game. Today’s games do not solely operate on traditional metrics.