Steam Stats - why has CK2 so much fewer daily players than other three main Pdox games?

[Krajzen]

http://store.steampowered.com/stats

Here you can see top100 games played on steam recently.
Last 24 hours highest player amount:

Eu4 - 23k
Stellaris - 21k
Hoi4 - 18k
Ck2 - 6k
(And it is not today's anomaly but long term trend)

I am honestly quite surprised. Recently I got bored of stellaris and eu4 (cannot care less about ww2) so I started inquiring about ck2 which I never played, and it looks very fascinating.

Any thoughts of why such difference exists?
Maybe that's because of how much cl2 relies on very intricate internal politics mechanics when compared with other games which focus on "spectacular" warfare and expansionism? I have to admit, I read wiki articles and it all seems to be really complicated, for me thats awesome but maybe it's too much for many players

PS
Before inevitable "ck2 is oldest" - eu4 is just a year younger game

 

[vandevere]

I don't know why either. Maybe it's because CK2 is sort of a weird crossbreed of a game. It has rts elements, but it also has rpg elements...

 

[Alexmci1]

I'll save a hundred replies here for you, and just say CK2 is six years old.
Also the new DLCs for HOI and EUIV, and Stellaris' huge Patch 2.0.

 

[Erratorium]

The 3 other games had dlc released less than a month ago (or even last week for EU4 I think)
Personally I own the 4 games and I started to play a EU game (because of the new dlc) but I will probably start a new CK2 campaign after that

 

[zeress]

To go with the other answer, you also don't even need steam turned on to start playing CK2, in SP anyways. No idea how many people actually know about that though.

 

[LeSingeAffame]

PS
Before inevitable "ck2 is oldest" - eu4 is just a year younger game

Rule
Britannia

 

[Zsrai]

Pretty sure that MP is far, far more popular in the other 3 flagship games than in CK2. The MP community isn't massive but it is sizable. Then, like everyone else said, the DLC and patches (and hotfixes).

Then not to mention that EU4, and to a slightly lesser degree Stellaris, are much more straightforward "warmonger" or "map painter" games which lowers the bar to entry significantly. Many people just like to WC or at least blob like crazy, and EU4 is the preeminent map painter.

 

[Aldahen]

I think you already got your answer:
- age
- recent DLCs
- most people prefer map painters

I also love the concept of CK2 and will try to secure some time for a new campaign at some point, but there are some things working against this unique and interesting game. I use myself as an example:

First time I played CK2, I tried to play it as a map painter. It is not that rewarding. One needs to understand the difference and enjoy the game from different angle. Failures give you also good stories. A dedicaded map painter doesn't think about this.

I work in a large international company. The feudal scheaming, back-stabbing, secret sociaties and lust for power reminds me quite much of the RL game that I see everyday. So when I want to relax, I wish get away from that. Even if you do not have this subconscious link, the game is probably more emotionally engaging than other titles. On a good day this is just great. On a bad day it might be too tasking to jump inti and one may prefer something lighter.

 

[WeissRaben]

Because Jade Dragon came out four months ago. Also, there haven't been many news about the next DLC/major patch, so hype is pretty low.

 

[Heiliges Thüringens Reich]

Because CK2 can only be thorough enjoyed by those with superior intellect.

CK2 is the hardest PDX game, as also the oldest and both EU4 and Stellaris got recent DLCs. As one is being developed for CK2, we can expect a raise of those players' quantity significantly then.

 

[Happy_Lonely]

Funny to see a space game in a list of "main Paradox games..."

I'm probably wrong here, but I think there has "always" been a clear distinction between Pdox games in terms of popularity.

EU has always been THE game. I think this relates to how versatile the game is: you can go explore&colonize/conquer or focus on old world, military, diplomacy or trade, even the Chinese and Japanese, Ottomans or Persia make for a fun game. And you go all the way from late medieval to early modern period.

As for HOI, WW2 is always a popular time period for gamers. HOI is somewhere between light and very heavy strategy game, so it possibly has appeal to players in many camps.

CK, Victoria and Rome were all somewhat disappointing in terms of popularity. CK and Victoria have seen a sequel, and both are very good games. But they still lack the versatility of EU, and they are not WW2. For me, Victoria is understandable. The time period is not very popular in games, and the game itself is very constrained, compared to EU or CK.

But probably I remember things wrong, it happens a lot these days...

 

[SgtSmuckers]

Funny to see a space game in a list of "main Paradox games..."

I'm probably wrong here, but I think there has "always" been a clear distinction between Pdox games in terms of popularity.

EU has always been THE game. I think this relates to how versatile the game is: you can go explore&colonize/conquer or focus on old world, military, diplomacy or trade, even the Chinese and Japanese, Ottomans or Persia make for a fun game. And you go all the way from late medieval to early modern period.

As for HOI, WW2 is always a popular time period for gamers. HOI is somewhere between light and very heavy strategy game, so it possibly has appeal to players in many camps.

CK, Victoria and Rome were all somewhat disappointing in terms of popularity. CK and Victoria have seen a sequel, and both are very good games. But they still lack the versatility of EU, and they are not WW2. For me, Victoria is understandable. The time period is not very popular in games, and the game itself is very constrained, compared to EU or CK.

But probably I remember things wrong, it happens a lot these days...

That is an interesting perspective, but can you incest to the point that your family tree devolves into horses that somehow now rule most of Europe? I think not.

 

[IanReSc]

I do think a lot of people are waiting for a new patch. Ever since the last one a lot of things have gone wobbly.

 

[Masternachos]

I agree with the DLC thing, but I'd really like to thank you for properly saying that you could NOT care less about WWII. Pet peeve.

[Well, technically you said "cannot" and not "could not", but that's not the point.]

 

[Matthias_Wlkp]

I typically play for couple of days just after a DLC gets 1-2 patches. I somehow thought there will be a new patch fairly soon, got myself into waiting mode... and now I'm playing other stuff.

 

[Zoomun]

Funny to see a space game in a list of "main Paradox games..."

I'm probably wrong here, but I think there has "always" been a clear distinction between Pdox games in terms of popularity.

EU has always been THE game. I think this relates to how versatile the game is: you can go explore&colonize/conquer or focus on old world, military, diplomacy or trade, even the Chinese and Japanese, Ottomans or Persia make for a fun game. And you go all the way from late medieval to early modern period.

As for HOI, WW2 is always a popular time period for gamers. HOI is somewhere between light and very heavy strategy game, so it possibly has appeal to players in many camps.

CK, Victoria and Rome were all somewhat disappointing in terms of popularity. CK and Victoria have seen a sequel, and both are very good games. But they still lack the versatility of EU, and they are not WW2. For me, Victoria is understandable. The time period is not very popular in games, and the game itself is very constrained, compared to EU or CK.

But probably I remember things wrong, it happens a lot these days...

I disagree about EU4 having more versatility than CK2. While the area you can play in is smaller you can do so many more things in CK2. CK2 is character based which allows for much more potential options. Playing in different regions or with different religions feels different. When I play EU4 it feels the same wherever in the world that I play. Playing in east Asia shouldn't feel the same as playing in Europe.

Conquering and colonizing are just different ways to blob and what is the point in exploring if you already know where everything is? CK2 can have so many completely random outcomes. Most of the time that I play EU4 nothing really changes. The same nations seem to blob every game and the only insane outcomes comes from the player. I love seeing the Byzantines get crushed by nomads or a reformed Slavic kingdom of England.

In CK2 you to do anything from pillaging the world as a nomad to restoring the Roman Empire. With some luck or skill almost anything can happen in CK2.

The Crusader Kings series will never be as popular as Europe Universalis or Hearts of Iron but I feel CK2 is much more versatile than any other paradox game.

 

[Bernard95]

I would say there's quite a few things that account for way lower popularity:
- Game is the oldest out of the flagship titles.
- Was plagued with performance issues post Rajas of India until Reaper's Due (I can think of a friend or two who said "Screw it!" because of this).
- We lost some people during the initially unpopular releases of Way of Life and Conclave (cannot tell you how many people raged over seduction and defensive pacts / shattered retreat when they first introduced).
- CK2 is a unique hybrid between RPG and strategy, and it's also not strictly a map painter. Some people simply prefer less complex games.
- Multiplayer was always notorious for de-syncing, killing the MP community. The other flagship games have a much larger community as a result.
- Dissatisfaction with the focus of DLCs.

 

[Aardvark Bellay]

Playing...

- offline
- without Steam

Other reasons were mentioned already.

Among them
- as WeissRaben mentioned, the last patch has been out for a while..
- as someone else mentioned, it's reminding of real life and it can be stressful for many reasons and not necessarily good ones..*
I'm far more relaxed since i play less to no CK2.

Still get back to it occasionaly.

*(bugs for instance and constantly changing base features and mechanics, well that's my reason)

 

[Chevaresqye]

EU4 and Hoi4 cover the whole world. CK2 would be a whole lot more popular if they people can conquest the world with it.

 

[Rubidium]

The no new DLC is definitely a big one. And while EUIV is "only" a year older, it has gotten more support/hype the past few years, as CK2 is clearly in a slower period of development (although given that they are recruiting beta testers, I expect something big to be announced for CK2 in the not too distant future).

That said, CK2 (not so much CK1) was extremely popular at it's peak; it was in many ways the title that turned Paradox from "tiny niche publisher" into "significant player."

It's still a great game, and I encourage you to give it a whirl; it's a lot of fun (and very different from the other Paradox games).