The problem with hype in video games is that it can also work in reverse. For when a publisher/developer reveals a game that isn’t well received at first, and then continues to do negatively as more details are revealed, players often grow even more hateful feelings towards the game, and so when it launches, it does terribly. Such is the case with Metal Gear Survive, the latest game in the Metal Gear franchise…and one that was hated from the moment it arrived.
Why? Well, Metal Gear Survive had the dubious honor of being the first game in the franchise to not be guided by Hideo Kojima. While that usually wouldn’t garner negative feelings, he was very publically, and brutally, fired by Konami, and fans didn’t appreciate that. What’s more, the game itself was very different from all the other Metal Gear games, and didn’t have anything close to the style and substance of the previous title. Because of that sales aren’t good at all.
Well, while exact numbers for consoles haven’t been revealed, Steam has had its numbers revealed. Metal Gear Survive did 85% less than Metal Gear Rising, which was the previous spinoff from the Metal Gear franchise. So it didn’t even do as good as that. What’s more, the game only did 5% of the sales of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, the final game in the series by Kojima.
Adding even more to the bad news for the game, the concurrent game numbers for Survive isn’t that much better. Meaning that while some players did buy the game, not a lot of them are playing it with others at the same time.
To be fair, this isn’t much of a surprise, the game was very much maligned when it debuted, and now that it’s arrived, many are using the ability to not buy it to stick it to Konami…seems the tactic is working.
