Hellblade 2 is played less than Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall

One of the key games for Xbox this year, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 from Ninja Theory Studios, has run into difficulties on the Steam platform. Despite high marks from critics and its status as one of the Xbox's most anticipated single-player games, its online performance on Steam has been lower than Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall.

On the day of its debut on Steam, Hellblade 2 peaked at 3,982 players, a low score for an AA/AAA game. In comparison, Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall gained 6132 and 6124 players respectively, which is significantly higher than Hellblade 2. This is troubling considering the teams responsible for these games were recently shut down by Microsoft.

Despite its availability on the Game Pass subscription, which may have impacted sales, Hellblade 2 was unable to replicate the successful launch of its competitors on Steam. This is especially troubling as the game's development likely required a significant financial investment and lasted at least 5 years.

The low popularity of Hellblade 2 on Steam can be attributed to several factors. One of the main ones is the lack of marketing on Microsoft's part, as reported by players and industry journalists. The advertising campaign started just three weeks before the game's release and was not effective enough.

In addition, the game's price of $49.99 on Steam, with an average game duration of 6-8 hours, may have deterred potential players, especially given the competition in the market.