NEW YORK, Dec 6 — “Starbound” immediately attracted 55,000 players at its peak in the 24 hours following its December 4 launch.
Recognised as a spiritual successor to 2011 breakaway hit “Terraria” since its art designer joined the team, the game also shares with “Terraria” a good degree of conceptual, mechanical and visual DNA.
“Starbound,” though, broadens its horizons considerably by heading into space.
Multiple humanoid races, randomly generated planets, space stations, both sci-fi and fantasy themes, and a story arc expand the scope of what came before; its enthusiastic player base is already set on sending the title into orbit.
And an initial 55k concurrent player count is a tremendous launch for a game built not on a sizable marketing budget but on word of mouth buzz, putting it in the same league as some of the Steam Network’s biggest and most established games such as “Football Manager 2014” and “Team Fortress 2.”
That’s despite game studio Chucklefish advising fans to hold back on the US$14.99 (RM48) purchase unless they’re willing to play through an unfinished game as it’s readied for final release next year.
Above “Starbound” and its cohorts stand a reinvigorated “Skyrim” at 75k peak, recently subject to a deep discount sale, the Steam operator’s own “Counter Strike: Global Offensive” at 90k while global giant “Dota 2” maintains a daily peak of between 450k and 550k.
Starbound Beta Trailer below.
Official website: playstarbound.com — AFP-Relaxnews
