Free-to-Play Square Enix Game is Flopping

Free-to-Play Square Enix Game is Flopping

Key Takeaways

  • Despite efforts to make Foamstars successful, it continues to struggle to retain players, losing 95% of its player base.
  • Square Enix‘s attempts to boost Foamstars by making it free-to-play following a PS Plus release have not been successful in increasing player retention.
  • Similar to Concord, Foamstars faces the risk of being taken offline due to its inability to attract a larger player base.

As a long-time gaming enthusiast with decades of experience under my belt, I must say that the ongoing struggles of Foamstars leave me feeling a tad nostalgic. It seems like we’ve seen this story before – a promising title with great potential, but unable to find its footing amidst a sea of competitors.


Despite multiple opportunities, Foamstars is struggling to perform well so far. Originally marketed as an alternative to the exclusive Nintendo game Splatoon, Foamstars has shown potential but has struggled to find its footing in the gaming world. With only a few months under its belt, the outlook for this free-to-play project is not particularly optimistic.

Square Enix made an effort to revitalize the game Foamstars when they noticed it was struggling, by removing its $30 price tag even after its initial release on PlayStation Plus. However, this didn’t seem to keep players interested in Foamstars, leading Square Enix to seek a more dedicated player base. The situation of Foamstars shares some resemblance with the game Concord, both being titles that received significant AAA support but failed to attract a large enough player base to justify the investment of resources. Unlike Foamstars, Concord‘s high price was a major obstacle, which Foamstars eliminated. Yet, despite this change, the ongoing struggle of Foamstars is cause for concern, as it appears to be more likely that Foamstars will experience a fate similar to Concord if it continues to persist.

According to TrueTrophies, Foamstars has faced greater difficulties after transitioning to a free-to-play format. Following its second pricing adjustment within a year, the game initially saw a 48% rise in players upon its free release. Yet, this increase was still a substantial 97% decrease compared to its initial launch on PlayStation Plus. It seems that despite efforts to attract more players, Foamstars continues to struggle with player retention.

Foamstars’ Stats Stay Stagnant

According to data from TrueTrophies, Foamstars experienced a massive 95% decline in its player base just two months after its debut. Trying to change the game’s monetization strategy has been quite challenging for Square Enix. While there is some curiosity surrounding it, this interest hasn’t been sufficient to position the game as a notable rival among the array of other live-service games currently on the market. Given Foamstars’ resemblance to Splatoon, many expected it to draw some attention from the growing fan base of the popular Nintendo shooter. However, this task has turned out to be more difficult than initially presumed.

It appears that the future of the game Foamstars is uncertain, as Square Enix has been reevaluating their sales strategies in an effort to achieve bigger successes. This reassessment seems to have classified Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth as a sales failure, and given similar circumstances, Foamstars might not be exempt. While this is all speculation, there’s a possibility that the game could be taken offline in the future, following a trend seen with games like Concord. Square Enix’s list of de-listed failures seems to expand every few years, with Babylon’s Fall being a recent notable flop. Given these circumstances, gamers who are interested in Foamstars may want to play it sooner rather than later.

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2024-10-13 03:24