God of War Ragnarok Steam Player Count is Way Down Compared to 2018 Game

God of War Ragnarok Steam Player Count is Way Down Compared to 2018 Game

Key Takeaways

  • God of War Ragnarok launches on Steam to a substantially lower player count than its predecessor.
  • 40,000 fewer users are playing Ragnarok at launch when compared to 2018’s God of War.
  • Ragnarok’s mixed reviews and low player count could be down to its forced PSN requirement or massive file size.

As a seasoned gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I must say that the launch of God of War Ragnarok on Steam has been quite a letdown. Having played every single game in the series since its inception, I was eagerly anticipating the sequel’s arrival on PC. However, the staggeringly low player count at launch is concerning, to say the least.


The highly-anticipated game, God of War Ragnarok, was released on Steam on September 19th, yet the initial response seems less exhilarating than expected, as the number of players starting the game at launch dropped by approximately 40,000 compared to its 2018 predecessor God of War. Despite the success God of War Ragnarok has enjoyed with developer Santa Monica Studios and publisher Sony, its PC debut has sparked controversy.

In 2022, when God of War Ragnarok debuted on PlayStation 5, it garnered high praise from critics, who considered it one of the top games of the year. However, despite earning eleven nominations at the 2022 Game Awards, it didn’t take home the most prestigious award, as Elden Ring by FromSoftware did. Despite its popularity, God of War Ragnarok has been subjected to review-bombing on Steam, with users leaving negative reviews primarily due to a compulsory requirement for linking their PSN account.

It’s uncertain what specifically caused it, but the PSN exclusivity for Ragnarok might have significantly affected its player numbers at launch. As noted by MP1st, the number of players for Ragnarok is substantially lower compared to God of War, its predecessor. When the 2018 title was released on Steam in 2022, it reached a high of more than 73,000 users at launch. Conversely, two years later, God of War Ragnarok has struggled with a peak of fewer than 30,000 concurrent players in its early days.

God of War Ragnarok Is off to a Poor Start on Steam

It’s important to mention that the number of players for God of War Ragnarok is expected to increase as we approach the weekend, but it has a significant gap to fill if it aims to reach its predecessor’s record. However, even with this substantial difference, it still outperforms other PlayStation titles on Steam in terms of concurrent players, except for Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which managed only 13,539 peak players when it was released on PC in November 2022, despite being part of one of Sony’s most renowned IPs.

Sony’s PlayStation has seen significant triumphs in its collaborations with Steam, for instance, the release of “Helldivers 2,” which experienced an impressive surge on the platform, boasting a peak concurrent player count of 458,709. However, this highly-anticipated shooter ran into trouble when Sony tried to enforce a linking requirement for accounts long after the game had debuted on Steam. This move sparked widespread criticism and unfavorable feedback, ultimately leading the publisher to rescind the policy.

Since Helldivers 2, several PlayStation titles launched on Steam have consistently demanded a PSN account from the start. This might be one of the factors contributing to Ragnarok’s smaller player base compared to God of War. However, another reason could be that many players are displeased with Ragnarok’s large file size on PC, potentially causing some users to bypass Santa Monica’s highly successful sequel.

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2024-09-21 18:13