‘Mecha Break' Has Lost 60% Of Its Players In A Week, User Scores Sink
Despite initial positive impressions from early tests, the launch of Mecha Break itself does not seem to be going terribly well just a short while after launch.
The initial numbers for Mecha Break were very good, with a peak of 132,000 players at release on Wednesday, July 2 on Steam. But just nine days later, the game has lost 60% of its players. That's occurred with a drop every single day, even over the course of last weekend, where you would expect increases.
Mecha Break , as a free-to-play multiplayer game, is not meant to be a one-and-done title, so the trend is concerning. The overall playercount is still good, as the Steam numbers don't count Xbox (where it's currently in 27th place) or its own launcher, but there's no reason to think those declines are not similar on other platforms, and it's the same trendline.
Mecha Break Steamdb
The decline in players has also come with a drop in user scores on Steam for Mecha Break , where it's down to 60% positive reviews, or 'Mixed.' Not what a game wants to see.
What's going on? Well, some of it may just be players bouncing off, as it wasn't quite as fun as they hoped. But there are a few controversies circulating, namely the monetization of the free-to-play game.
One aspect is the very, very pricey cosmetic microtransactions that can end up being $47 for some bundles in a game where its attractive character aesthetic is one of its core appeals. Even among similar games, that is very, very high.
There's also an auction house in the game that can be used to buy and sell things, with some complaining about very high prices there. There are also some accusations that the game is pay-to-win in some regards, but many players dispute that.
Auction House Mecha Break
It doesn't sound like anything all that different from other free-to-play games, but all of this has combined for a significant player drop-off very quickly. If that trend is not reversed, this may not have the long-term appeal to succeed. I'm curious where it will be even after just a month, given this pace of rapid decline.
It's just a hugely competitive market in the PvP space at the moment, with a new game, even a free one, has to try to break past giants that players have committed to for years. And then immediately hitting them with loads of microtransactions and a full auction house isn't the best first impression. We'll see if developer Amazing Seasun Games has any ideas to rapidly turn this around.
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