Summary

  • 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.

God of War Ragnarok officially launched on Steam on September 19, but its release has been somewhat anti-climactic as over 40,000 fewer users have booted up the game at launch compared to its 2018 predecessor God of War, which was released on Steam in 2022. While God of War Ragnarok was a smash hit for developer Santa Monica Studios and publisher Sony, its PC launch has already been met with controversy.

When God of War Ragnarok hit PlayStation 5 back in 2022, critics praised the sequel, calling it one of the best games of the year. It would go on to receive a massive eleven nominations at the 2022 Game Awards but failed to pick up the coveted award, losing out to FromSoftware's critically acclaimed Elden Ring. Despite being loved by many, God of War Ragnarok is already being review-bombed on Steam, with many citing its forced PSN account-linking requirement as the reason for leaving a negative review.

Kratos and Atreus from God of War: Ragnarok
God of War Ragnarok PC Setting Lets Players Turn Off 'Intrusive' PS5 Feature

God of War Ragnarok allows PC users to turn down an "intrusive" feature that drew a lot of complaints from PS4 and PS5 players.

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Although there's no way to know the exact reason, Ragnarok's PSN requirement may have had a massive impact on its player count at launch. As spotted by MP1st, Ragnarok's player count is drastically lower than its predecessor's, God of War. When the 2018 title made its way to Steam in 2022, it peaked at just over 73,000 users at launch. Now, two years later, God of War Ragnarok finds itself in a dire situation as the title has peaked at less than 30,000 concurrent players in its first couple of days.

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

It is worth noting that God of War Ragnarok's player count will likely continue to grow as we move into the weekend, but it's got a long way to go if it wants to get anywhere close to its predecessor's record. But despite the fact that it's a long way off from God of War's highest concurrent player count, it's still not the worst-performing PlayStation title on Steam in terms of concurrent players. When Marve's Spider-Man: Miles Morales was released on PC in November 2022, it only managed to peak at 13,539 players, despite being part of one of PlayStation's most popular IPs.

PlayStation has had some huge successes with Steam releases though, such as Helldivers 2, which had a monumental rise on the platform and managed to reach 458,709 players concurrently. Unfortunately, the popular shooter was met with controversy when PlayStation attempted to enforce an account-linking requirement months after the game had launched on Steam. The decision was met with backlash and negative reviews, which resulted in the publisher reverting the policy.

Many PlayStation titles that have been released on Steam after Helldivers 2 have had the same PSN requirement enforced from the get-go, which could be one of the reasons as to why Ragnarok's player count is so much lower than God of War. However, there are also a plethora of players who are unhappy with Ragnarok's massive file size on PC, which could also be another reason for users opting to skip Santa Monica's smash-hit sequel.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
God of War: Ragnarok Tag Page Cover Art
10 /10

God of War Ragnarok
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Action
Adventure
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Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1
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Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
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Released
November 9, 2022
ESRB
M For Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
Developer(s)
Santa Monica Studio
Publisher(s)
Sony
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God of War Ragnarok the crater region and lightning
6 Images
God of War Ragnarok the crater region and lightning
Intense combat with Kratos wielding fiery Blades of Chaos against a powerful enemy in God of War Ragnarok
Kratos gazing at colossal statues in a mystical, cloudy landscape in God of War Ragnarok
God of War Ragnarok gameplay
Kratos from God of War Ragnarok
Kratos battling a creature with Atreus assisting in the background
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
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Embark on an epic and heartfelt journey as Kratos and Atreus struggle with holding on and letting go
From Santa Monica Studio comes the sequel to the critically acclaimed God of War (2018). Fimbulwinter is well underway. Kratos and Atreus must journey to each of the Nine Realms in search of answers as Asgardian forces prepare for a prophesied battle that will end the world. Along the way they will explore stunning, mythical landscapes, and face fearsome enemies in the form of Norse gods and monsters. The threat of Ragnarök grows ever closer. Kratos and Atreus must choose between their own safety and the safety of the realms.

Engine
Proprietary Engine
Franchise
God of War
Genre(s)
Action, Adventure
How Long To Beat
26 Hours