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Red Dead Redemption II for Steam peaks at 12,000 players on launch day (update: numbers rising post-launch day, currently at 37k)

vestan

vestan

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Dec 28, 2017
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Was at 12k-ish a few hours ago but now it's sitting at 9k. Doesn't even break the top six biggest launches on Steam this year.
  1. Destiny 2 - 292,000
  2. Total War: Three Kingdoms - 191,000
  3. Halo: Master Chief Collection - 161,000
  4. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - 124,000
  5. Devil May Cry V - 88,000
  6. Resident Evil 2 - 74,000
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Not all too surprising considering the staggered PC release with Rockstar launching the game a good few weeks after the EGS and their own RGL version but this is still something. Technical issues which were meant to be fixed weeks ago are still rampant. Doesn't help that the game is way cheaper if you decide to go for a RGL code instead of full price on Steam + zero pre-order incentives at all.

Guessing we'll never hit the GTA V PC glory days of 300k+ people at release if they're just going to divide things up like this. The people that wanted RDR2 on PC already caved on the RGL version so we'll probably never get to see the numbers.

Also I absolutely think this is proof that those who decide to wait for the Steam release of a game that goes EGS exclusive are the vocal minority. Same with the success of Borderlands 3 on PC. People will raise a stinker that a game goes EGS exclusive but ultimately folks just go where the games are and big publishers who follow that Epic money aren't missing out at all. Name of the game is just convenience at this point. Pick whatever launcher you're comfortable with.
 
Lant_War

Lant_War

Classic Anus Game
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Jul 14, 2018
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Well, the game isn't a new launch so it's not very surprising. Sad to see they pulled this little stunt instead of letting people buy it where they want.
 
Linus815

Linus815

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Oct 29, 2017
19,711
Honestly, I think the game will have much higher peak than that - but probably only once it goes on sale, and has more patches. Steam will probably be the preferred platform for buyers from now, but yeah vast majority of people that wanted to play the game on PC already bought it elsewhere for much cheaper or with better bonuses.
 

Deleted member 29237

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Nov 1, 2017
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Given it's dependent on Rockstar launcher it's easier to just get a cheaper version that redeems there and not have to worry about depending two launchers to be working to run the game. I launch everything through Playnite now so don't really feel attached to one in particular.
 
Sei

Sei

Member
Oct 28, 2017
5,706
LA
People are reporting the game is still broken in several ways. That's why I'm not buying it yet.
 
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vestan

vestan

#REFANTAZIO SWEEP
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Dec 28, 2017
24,611
Linus815 said:
Honestly, I think the game will have much higher peak than that - but probably only once it goes on sale, and has more patches. Steam will probably be the preferred platform for buyers from now, but yeah vast majority of people that wanted to play the game on PC already bought it elsewhere for much cheaper or with better bonuses.
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Yeah Rockstar games have insane legs. I was just hoping this would make a huge splash like GTA V but I guess this is what happens when you divide stuff up like this. Doesn't help that the launch is terrible from a technical perspective and a lot of people would rather wait it out until a bunch of patches have come in.

Outside of the technical stuff, most people in the reviews are complaining about how Rockstar decided to delay the Steam release and I understand the frustration.
 
Trisc

Trisc

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Oct 27, 2017
6,485
I'd wager most of the folks who actually wanted the game on PC already bought it a month ago. Add in the fact that no matter where you buy it, you have to deal with RSGL, and it makes perfect sense this launch would be middling: the folks who did the research probably don't care for two layers of DRM. I certainly don't.

Oh, and the folks who say they'll hold out for a Steam launch are probably a very small minority, but I'd like to see a few more EGS timed exclusives hit Steam before I can say that conclusively.
 
sredgrin

sredgrin

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What are you talking about with making a big splash? It isn't like Steam's playerbase is quarantined, it just means that big "splash" already happened a month ago. The only thing the division affected was the easy access to numbers.
 
Dest

Dest

Has seen more 10s than EA ever will
Coward
Jun 4, 2018
14,038
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Can't believe this dating sim about a guy wanting to make his waifu real is heavily out pacing rootin tootin' ride 'em cowboys 2

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Lashley

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Oct 25, 2017
59,918
Also I absolutely think this is proof that those who decide to wait for the Steam release of a game that goes EGS exclusive are the vocal minority. Same with the success of Borderlands 3 on PC. People will raise a stinker that a game goes EGS exclusive but ultimately folks just go where the games are and big publishers who follow that Epic money aren't missing out at all. Name of the game is just convenience at this point. Pick whatever launcher you're comfortable with.
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Or the fact its an older game, or the fact you could get it direct off their launcher with a discount or the fact its still a buggy mess

Many reasons why people are holding off
 
JCADX

JCADX

Member
Oct 29, 2017
301
vestan said:
Also I absolutely think this is proof that those who decide to wait for the Steam release of a game that goes EGS exclusive are the vocal minority. Same with the success of Borderlands 3 on PC. People will raise a stinker that a game goes EGS exclusive but ultimately folks just go where the games are and big publishers who follow that Epic money aren't missing out at all. Name of the game is just convenience at this point. Pick whatever launcher you're comfortable with.
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I think Hades from Supergiant Games (which releases soon on Steam) and specially Borderlands 3 when it releases will be a better indicator for this statement, considering that Rockstar made a really attractive offer to buy RDR2 on their launcher when compared to EGS and Steam, which makes logical to have lower sales here. In the case of EGS first games the only incentive is the exclusivity period in most of the cases.
 
BrickArts295

BrickArts295

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Oct 26, 2017
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To be fair, those R*/Epic keys were $40+ on BF. Anyone waiting probably pulled the trigger due to the cheaper price. Hell you can buy it right now for $47.
 
cw_sasuke

cw_sasuke

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Oct 27, 2017
26,342
I mean its a late ass release that has been on console and multiple PC storefront before that already.....hell even Stadia got it earlier.

Thats like expecting dream numbers from some 4-5 years old ports to Switch.

Game will be around for ages though - so Day 1 numbers...while important arent making or breaking the success of the steam version.
 
Mullet2000

Mullet2000

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Oct 25, 2017
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Full price game that is a month late on the platform, a year late from the console release, and readily available on other PC platforms at up to 33% off on black friday. Those numbers aren't too surprising.
 
SweetBellic

SweetBellic

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Oct 28, 2017
4,407
It's Thursday and many Americans are still at work. Would be curious to see if it there's a bump over the next few hours as people start getting home.

Though I think it's safe to assume many core PC players already purchased the game elsewhere. People like me who are die-hard Rockstar and Valve/Steam fans who waited until today to purchase RDR2 on PC are probably pretty niche.
 
packy17

packy17

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Oct 27, 2017
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There was no reason to wait for the Steam version (unless you live in a region that benefits from Steam's better pricing) since you have to use the Rockstar Launcher to play the game anyway.
 
ShinUltramanJ

ShinUltramanJ

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Oct 27, 2017
12,949
vestan said:
Also I absolutely think this is proof that those who decide to wait for the Steam release of a game that goes EGS exclusive are the vocal minority.
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You got Epic sales figures to back up your claim that PC players bought it there?

Because it wasn't exclusive to Epic. It requires the Rockstar launcher regardless of where you buy It.
 

Firebricks

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Jan 27, 2018
2,127
It's got pretty much everything going against it at this point, plus it came out like a day after Halo on Steam.
 
XR.

XR.

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Nov 22, 2018
6,576
I'll buy it when it's cheap and is in a better state. Charging €60 at this point in time is absolutely ridiculous, and that's without the extras.
 
Carlius

Carlius

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Oct 27, 2017
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Am not buying it cause its a broken piece of shit game. Ppl also flocking to whatever launcher cause they want the game, thats fine, doesnt change the fact that they botched the launch and theres plenty of ppl that are not going to buy it.

We also have no idea about pc numbers on either egs or rockstar client, and i can bet you whatever you want, its not in the millions, so saying ppl will buy anywhere is kind of not accurate considering the state of the game.

Rockstar deserves for this game to "fail" on pc cause of their greedy ass, and you know what...they will later be saying steam sales were not good, so exclusive from now on. Its all pr bullshit. The original release date was the steam date, but they wanted to grab a quick buck, and it all comes around to bite them in the ass with their botched launch
 
elyetis

elyetis

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Oct 26, 2017
4,550
Any EGS exclusivity deal for me not only mean waiting for a steam release but also waiting for a +50% discount.

Also, few people ever said that just because something is bad for the consumer, mean it will fail. Paid online is now a thing on the 3 consoles for a reason.
 
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statham

statham

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Oct 25, 2017
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Peeps don't mind other launchers as much as this site seems to think. They prefer Steam, but discounts and/or getting it earlier trumps steam it seems. Expect more of this to happen.
 
packy17

packy17

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vestan said:
Also I absolutely think this is proof that those who decide to wait for the Steam release of a game that goes EGS exclusive are the vocal minority.
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This is the absolute wrong lesson to take from this because the game wasn't an EGS exclusive. It also ignores *why* a lot of people don't want to do business with EGS - it has never been about not being on Steam specifically. We've had multiple storefronts for years.
 

whistleklik

Member
Oct 27, 2017
260
Kentucky
I bought it from rockstars launcher. They had a pretty good deal. I'd imagine most of the people who were looking forward to the game also probably bought it there. I can't really see people holding out for a steam version of a Rockstar game.
 
Evolution of Metal

Evolution of Metal

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Oct 27, 2017
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I think you might want to wait for tomorrow. I believe things will look much better once everyone downloads and plays the game, this is indeed a massive package launching in the evening EU.
 
Sei

Sei

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vestan said:
Also I absolutely think this is proof that those who decide to wait for the Steam release of a game that goes EGS exclusive are the vocal minority.
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This is only true if you ignore.
- This is an old game. The people that wanted to play it probably already did on consoles.
- It doesn't matter where you buy it, you still have to deal with the Rockstar Launcher. The benefits of waiting for the Steam version were minimal.
- Steam buyers would pay attention to the reviews that came out of this PC version and how bad it runs and how buggy it is.
 
SweetBellic

SweetBellic

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Oct 28, 2017
4,407
vestan said:
Also I absolutely think this is proof that those who decide to wait for the Steam release of a game that goes EGS exclusive are the vocal minority. Same with the success of Borderlands 3 on PC. People will raise a stinker that a game goes EGS exclusive but ultimately folks just go where the games are and big publishers who follow that Epic money aren't missing out at all. Name of the game is just convenience at this point. Pick whatever launcher you're comfortable with.
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RDR2 was never EGS exclusive so nothing in your post actually supports this hot take.

Also, the very notion of "picking whatever launcher you're comfortable with" is anathema to Epic, which is precisely why so many PC gamers boycott them.
 
XxLeonV

XxLeonV

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Nov 8, 2017
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Going to wait a bit later for this Steam price to drop. The PC version doesn't sound like it's in a great state right now.
 
Khrol

Khrol

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Oct 28, 2017
4,179
That's shockingly low. I wonder if Borderlands 3 will have similarly low numbers.
 
Bakercat

Bakercat

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Oct 27, 2017
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Waiting for the game to go around $20 myself. I already paid $60 a year ago, and I won't buy pc games unless its on steam.
 
AshenOne

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iAMr229 said:
Basically this.

I hope devs keep doing whatever works best for them and if that means epic exclusives then so be it.
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statham said:
Peeps don't mind other launchers as much as this site seems to think. They prefer Steam, but discounts and/or getting it earlier trumps steam it seems. Expect more of this to happen.
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Not if most of them just pre-ordered through the rockstar launcher version way back.
This is a similar but not a same case for when a big game is egs and MS store timed exclusive. Remember, even with the outer worlds, a lot of people just played it on game pass.

Also not to mention, a lot of them are busy playing Halo and its a bigger deal than red dead 2 on PC IMO.
 
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