A strong start on Steam can almost guarantee the success of blockbuster titles.
This is true, but sometimes there are exceptions. For example, the case of Specter Divide – an FPS game that received countless expectations before its release.
Appearing on Steam on September 3 with very little attention and promotion, Specter Divide has also created its own mark with a large number of players, completely different from the two bombs. Tons of the same genre are Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant. At its peak, Specter Divide also attracted more than 30,000 players at the same time – an extremely impressive number for a game that is still quite new.
But almost immediately after that, one wrong move by the game developer destroyed all the above efforts.
Specifically, right after achieving initial success, Specter Divide made a move that caused the majority of gamers to protest. That is setting outrageous prices for their skins, to the point that many gamers have to think it is somewhat delusional. Specifically, the first gun package in the shop is sold for $90 (more than 2 million VND) – a number that is more than enough for gamers to buy another AAA blockbuster. Too expensive compared to the impression the skins bring. Even after that, Specter Divide had discount programs, but that was not enough to save players' trust.
Then whatever comes must come. The current number of players for this blockbuster has dropped below 10,000, which is nearly fourfold compared to its peak. At the same time, Specter Divide also suffered thousands of negative reviews on Steam, causing the game's rating to plummet.