Nexon’s The First Descendant, a newly-released multiplayer looter shooter, has accrued 10 million users in its first week, despite a highly-competitive market for live service games. In a post, Nexon has thanked users for their “tremendous support and love” and said “it means everything” to see The First Descendant succeed. So, how did we get here?
The First Descendant‘s success appears to have come largely out of the blue, with little pre-release hype entering the mainstream sphere. Yet with word-of-mouth and positive reviews from players, The First Descendant has become a major success.
Why is The First Descendant so popular?
The first thing worth noting is that Nexon is an established company with a loyal fanbase that has supported the company over three decades. It’s published and developed a range of popular games, including MapleStory and Dungeon & Fighter, and The First Descendant is built on learnings from decades of supporting these games.
While some critics believe that’s to the detriment of The First Descendant, as the game borrows familiar elements from a range of other live service titles, there’s clearly millions of players who feel otherwise, who continuously jump in for more.
On Steam, the game currently has a Mixed rating – and while reviews are all over the place, the common thread is that gameplay is fun and moreish. As the game is free, there’s a low barrier to entry, and as players enter the world of The First Descendant, they’re immediately thrust into battles with strong fighting mechanics, buoyed by multiplayer co-op gameplay.
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The game’s microtransactions, while the subject of much scrutiny for their high cost, are also seemingly non-obtrusive, so players wishing for a free experience can have that, without being consistently prompted to spend money. As games like The First Descendant are an excuse to hang out with friends or make new ones, the ability to play free is very appreciated.
As an added note, there’s also been much discourse around The First Descendant‘s female characters, particularly that many of them are highly sexualised, and wearing clothing that shows ample skin. There’s plenty of people who enjoy that in their games – which is fair enough – and it’s likely interest in the game’s female cast is also driving the game’s popularity.
The good, and the bad
Interestingly enough, The First Descendant isn’t considered a particularly “great” game in online circles. Despite achieving a high level of popularity, there are still plenty of complaints about the game. Currently, it faces issues with crashes and lag, and many have raised questions about the game’s use of anti-cheat measures. Its narrative has also been criticised as bland, and it’s been unfavourably compared to “better” games like Destiny 2 and Warframe.
Yet it maintains popularity for its moreish qualities. Even those with positive things to say on Steam acknowledge The First Descendant isn’t perfect, but solid gameplay and the game’s free nature have worked wonders to attract a loyal audience.
It’s also a game that does just enough different from its rivals to encourage player uptake, as it presents an alternative buoyed by strong core ideas, and neat character designs. Again, it’s likely sex appeal plays some part in audience retention, but it would be unfair to reduce the game only to that.
Suffice to say, it appears that despite all its flaws, The First Descendant is a flashy enough looter shooter that it has made a significant impact on audiences who enjoy multiplayer titles. At this stage, the game is enjoying wild success, and while the nature of the live service games market is that audience retention will be more complicated, The First Descendant is starting out on the right foot.