Artifact loses 90% of its player base in less than two months

Valve's games are known for being incredibly strong when it comes to their player bases. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive hit a record 20 million unique players last month following the move to free-to-play and the release of the battle royale Danger Zone mode, and then you also have the beast that is Dota 2, with both of these games also spawning hugely successful esports scenes as well.

Hopes were probably high for CCG (Collectible Card Game) Artifact then, as it launched in November and was set in the Dota 2 universe. At the beginning of December though Gaming LYF reported that the game had lost 60% of its users as it dipped to 25,000 players from 60,000 at launch day, even getting as low as 15,000.

Now Forbes is reporting an even bigger decrease for Artifact, as Steam Charts data shows an all-time low of just under 1,500. This means Artifact has lost around 90% of its players in less than two months, which is a surprise given the backing by Valve.

As we mentioned in our review though, the monetisation was troubling, and something we didn't really get on with despite the fun we had with the core mechanics. A change to this system did land last month, but as is to often the case with these situations it might have been too little too late.

Have you given Artifact a go?