‘No Staying Power’ The First Descendant Receives Bad News from Nexon CEO

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Nexon’s leaders have announced some concerning news regarding the future of The First Descendant. Although the game has only been available for under two years, the company’s CEO is questioning whether it achieved its intended success. While The First Descendant started strong, Nexon admits it’s struggling to keep players engaged long-term.

When The First Descendant launched in July 2024, it was advertised as a free-to-play game with high production values, combining strategic shooting with a complex system for upgrading gear. Designed as a continuously updated “live service” game, Nexon intended it to be a long-term success and a key part of their business, alongside other popular multiplayer titles. Initially, it seemed like they had achieved that goal, with thousands of players quickly drawn into The First Descendant’s sci-fi setting, enjoying its distinct characters and energetic gameplay.

The First Descendant’s “Strong Launch” with Zero Staying Power

During a recent presentation to investors, Nexon CEO Junghun Lee frankly discussed the company’s recent performance. He admitted that Nexon is trying to support too many games without clear plans for success and that they’ve been too slow to make difficult decisions, which is costly in the fast-paced gaming industry. Lee specifically pointed out that both The First Descendant and Dungeon & Fighter Mobile had strong initial launches but failed to keep players engaged long-term. He categorized these games as failures in the presentation, explaining that they suffered from design flaws that couldn’t be fixed with simple updates – the core game mechanics needed significant changes. He emphasized that if a game doesn’t keep players motivated, they’ll stop playing, and that new game launches aren’t providing lasting boosts to revenue. Nexon is now focused on understanding why this is happening and finding solutions to improve player retention and profitability.

The numbers tell a clear story about the game’s decline in popularity. Initially, it attracted over 264,000 players on Steam, but Forbes reports that player count has dropped by 96% in the last two years. Now, it barely reaches 5,000 daily players—far too few to support a game of this size. Interest on social media has also faded, with Twitch viewership falling from 160,000 at launch to just 200 today. Reviews reflect this trend as well, with a “mixed” rating on Steam (based on over 110,000 reviews) and a 56 out of 100 score on OpenCritic.

A major complaint from players and reviewers was how relentlessly difficult the game’s basic mechanics became. Although the initial gameplay of finding loot was enjoyable and kept people playing for a long time, eventually getting stronger characters felt like a repetitive and boring chore. Players often hit a point where progress felt impossible, leading them to quit. To try and keep players engaged, the game developers focused heavily on selling cosmetic items, particularly revealing outfits. They even added collaborations with popular characters like 2B from Nier: Automata, but even these provocative additions weren’t enough to fix the underlying problems with the game and couldn’t convince players to stick around. While the outfits generated some temporary attention, they couldn’t hide the deeper issues with how the game played.

Despite the CEO’s concerns, the game isn’t finished yet, though it’s definitely struggling. Nexon is still providing limited support, with a new update coming on April 2nd and plans for more character content still in the works. However, these updates might just be temporary while the company decides if a major revamp is worth the cost. Maintaining online games is expensive, and if the number of players remains low, Nexon may eventually shut it down. The CEO questioned whether the game could become a long-term focus for players, pointing out that development costs are rising and new games are delayed, which is impacting profits. For now, players can expect a few more seasonal updates, but the CEO’s frank assessment casts doubt on the game’s future. The core message is that the game needs significant changes to its gameplay to avoid continuing its decline.

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2026-04-02 19:04