***"I've been playing Rise of Kingdoms for more than 5 years, even before KvK (Kingdoms vs Kingdoms) existed. Every day, more of my fellow players — some of whom I know personally and fought side by side with in every KvK — choose to leave the game."
"And now we don't have enough players to keep the alliance running. I wonder why!"***
—— FishFishFF, interviewed in 2024 before joining Last Odyssey
Quantic Foundry plotted the decline of strategy as a motivator in gaming over the last nine years. (Image source: Quantic Foundry)
Recent studies indicate a decline in player interest in strategy games, including 4X and simulation strategy (SLG) genres. A report by Quantic Foundry, which surveyed over 1.57 million players between June 2015 and April 2024, found that 67% of players have shown less interest in strategic thinking over the past nine years.
Sensor Tower: Mobile Gaming Market in 2024 & beyond (Image source: devtodev)
Sensor Tower data shows traditional 4X strategy games experienced a significant decline with a -14% revenue growth rate. This represents one of the largest decreases across all strategy sub-genres, suggesting that 4X strategy games are losing popularity or struggling to maintain player interest.
These findings suggest that traditional mechanics in 4X and Strategy games may no longer captivate players as effectively as they once did, indicating a potential bottleneck in the genre's evolution.
***"I've spent countless hours analyzing player feedback and data. The key is to really understand why some players stick around while others leave. What makes them stay? What pushes them away? These are the questions we need to answer."
”I feel AI perhaps might tackle these kinds of pain points.”***
—— Aidan (Game Producer)
Heavily Extended Playtime
"I used to spend more than 10 hours every single day on Rise of Kingdoms. It became like a second job - you had to be there for territory wars, alliance events, everything. After 5 years and spending over $130,000, I realized I couldn't keep up with this schedule anymore. It was just too demanding for someone with a real life to manage."
—— From a former hardcore Rise of Kingdoms player
Complexity of Mechanics
***”*I tried Top War for a few months, but the mechanics were just too overwhelming. There were so many different systems and features to learn - troop management, base building, alliance coordination. I felt like I needed a PhD just to understand the basics. ”
—— From a beginner playing Top War less than 1 week and left the game already
Overwhelming Micromanagement
"It was crazy... As my Kingdom gets bigger, I'm spending more and more time just managing every little thing. It's getting super annoying, you know? Especially when you're deep into the game. I swear some days I feel more drained from this than my actual job!"
—— From a current hardcore player of "Awakening of Ten Thousand Dragons”
*The above pain points were extracted from interviews with more than a dozen 4X gamers.