Civilization: Beyond Earth is just about a month old at this point, but it looks like its players are already jumping ship back to its predecessor, Civilization V.
Beyond Earth's Mac Version Is Almost Done And Should Be Launching Next Week
As one post on the Civilization subreddit pointed out, player numbers for Beyond Earth have come down to tepid levels after its successful launch week. As you can see over on SteamCharts, Beyond Earth player numbers peaked at around 15,000 during the last weekend after its original boost during launch weekend. Player numbers for Civ V, in contrast, still routinely reach 50,000 each weekend.
Of course, this isn't to say that Beyond Earth is performing poorly. It's still respectably in the top 40 or so games being played on Steam according to SteamCharts. Civ V, however, is still solidly among Steam's top 10 games being played right now.
Check Out Our Complete Guide For Getting Started In Civilization: Beyond Earth
There are a couple of considerations, though, that make the future of Beyond Earth much more optimistic. When Civ V came out, it was a widely held belief that Civilization IV was still the better game. As Civ V expanded with packs like Gods & Kings and Brave New World, however, Civ fans started flocking back to the newer game. Firaxis has confirmed that it plans to expand Beyond Earth in a similar fashion, so it's very likely that Beyond Earth could see a similar resurgence.
There's also a large patch in the works at Firaxis that should be going live in the near future. Besides squashing some of the launch bugs in Beyond Earth, the patch is also rebalancing the game in a big way, incorporating feedback the developers have received from the community since launch. Once these launch frustrations get smoothed out, some fans might be tempted to come back and give Beyond Earth another shot.
Finally, with the Mac version of Beyond Earth coming (assuming all goes well) next week, the new game is likely about to see an entirely new player base logging on, as Mac users get their chance to launch off into the great unknown.
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth is now available for PC.
