Is this game under risk of dying?

Will fixing PVP bring back players who left the game because of its downfall, let alone new ones? I have my doubts on that...
Fortnite's Battle Royale is THE top gaming trend at this moment, and have PVP as its main feature, unlike DCUO who have it as a side attraction. They both have very different business models which, from my eyes, can't be directly compared to. Fortnite is better compared by PUBG and LoL, while DCUO is more in league with FF14 and WoW. It's plain wrong to compare regalia with lingerie.

Never knew such a site exists! Gotta love how many open access information sites there are in the US (ha)
It reads like the management is dated and self-absorbed, while the employees are talented but suppressed.
So... the game will live on without ups and downs while dev teams stay in hell?

They did have stats revamp, reaccessing how episodes are accessed, and newer models are being made. It's just that changes are being rolled out really slow, while old broken things just remain broken, which seems to be the result of dev team limitations and leadership dysfunction.
Not living in the US so I don't know how they advertise. There are some sort of leaflets at conventions or something? I think everyone misses those cinematic shorts but it's unlikely for them to afford one anyway...

The license isn't a strong point, if DCUO isn't able to make a profit on top of paying the fees, Daybreak will simply kill it. Being the only active superhero MMORPG probably helps though. (Until CoT launches that is...)

As far as advertising goes, whether in the US or not you rarely see much in the way of advertising for games after they've been released, especially when it's been close to a decade since the game came out. The only exception I can think of is the exception to EVERY MMO rule out there, and that's WoW. LOL

I wouldn't dismiss the power of the license altogether. Even with the struggles in the movie department you've got 5 shows airing on the CW network, another potential show focused on Batwoman thanks to the Elseworlds crossover (still haven't heard for sure if she's getting her own show) and a whole slew of shows coming out on their new streaming service. There's a demand for DC content out there, and I wouldn't be surprised if it drives at least a few gamers to check out what we have going on here.

Oh, and while they may not be getting much in the way of actual content releases like us, Champions Online is still kicking around.

I guess DBG needs to case study WoW then? Or even Blizzard in general...

The power of the brand and license are different. It's the DC brand that has the attention, the license is what allows DBG to set up DCUO in the first place. Hell, the brand is the major reason I play and sub in the first place. (Too bad the streaming service is a US exclusive - @^#(^(*^$(@#^($^(#@)

Huh. Looks like more popcorn is required.

If you mean, does the in-game evidence point to it being shut down soon?

Not really. There is still a steady stream of new content (every 3 months or so), lots of cosmetics, coordination with the larger DC franchise regarding content timed to movie releases, etc. This suggests a healthy game.

Population-wise, it's hard to say whether you'll find groups to run stuff with all the time, due to their being far less villains. EU seems to be going through a particularly rough patch. This issue seems to be more related to game design problems (i.e. not being able to form groups with the opposite faction or chat with the opposite faction), though some will point to p2w tactics that drive some players away. This is something you can easily check out for yourself by making a free character on your local server.

Is the game at risk of dying due to the parent company, Daybreak, being in financial trouble, laying off employees, etc.? That's much harder to predict, since private companies never release their inner working or financials. It's anyone's guess what the future may or may not bring in those respects.

While we'll probably never really know the details, with SWG it's best to keep in mind that the game was still getting regular development and attention. Also, the announcement of SWG's shutdown from all appearances took many of the folks at SOE by surprise.

But with EA gaining the exclusive license for Star Wars games around that time and their plans to try and launch SWTOR, it wouldn't surprise me in the least to learn that SWG's license not being renewed was due in large part to EA not wanting any sort of competition for their game when it launched. That was kind of their method of operation at the time: if there's competition, get the exclusive license for something to eliminate the competition. Because, you know, trying to make better games was just so much harder.

Sorry, a little bitterness seeped out there. Anyhow, the circumstances on SWG's shutdown were somewhat unique, so I don't know how well it could be used as an example.

Haven't you heard; it already died:

2014 - https://forums.daybreakgames.com/dc...ndary-subs-worked-why-did-dcuo-go-f2p.187197/
- https://forums.daybreakgames.com/dcuo/index.php?threads/dcuo-dead-by-the-end-of-next-year.220583/
2015 - https://forums.daybreakgames.com/dcuo/index.php?threads/opinions-on-dcuos-recent-direction.263341/
- https://forums.daybreakgames.com/dcuo/index.php?threads/lfg-tells-my-story-for-me.254960/
2016 - https://forums.daybreakgames.com/dcuo/index.php?threads/what-happened-to-the-population.267243/
2017 - https://forums.daybreakgames.com/dc...eak-hiring-40-new-people.288216/#post-3975342
2018 - https://forums.daybreakgames.com/dcuo/index.php?threads/is-the-game-dead.294220/

I understand your question, but there's no way to answer it. My philosophy is, enjoy it while it lasts.

Fellow WildStar enthusiast, here, btw. It was sad to me to see a game with such potential slowly die an agonizing death. I loved the combat and classes. Shame there wasn't more content released for the masses.

In 2021. Lol. Sorry, couldn't resist.

I thought WildStar was amazing as well Shark. Doing the 20 man raids was exhilarating but as much as I am a fan of "elite" level content WildStar faltered hard on not giving enough "non-elite" level content. It oddly enough had the opposite problem DCUO has. lol.

Only reason I ever left WildStar and came back to DCUO after like 6 months was because of PVP and old friends.

it is wild speculation as there is zero evidence to back up your claim. both wildstar and SWG had one thing in common, neither added anything new to keep players!! both games were ghost towns in 90% of the places you went thus making it extremely difficult for any new players coming in. wildstar alone was dragging itself a little over 3 months after coming out, really most are surprised it lasted as long as it did.

the answer is no. DCUO doesnt have the problems both of those games had. if you want to make sure then go check the price of lifetime sub and then multiply it by 4000. that should give you a new comfort.

If I could tell the future, I’d be seeking different answers in general.

You cannot tell how many players are on at a time because the game is divided up into phases (think mini servers).

The game is good to go for at least two to three more years.

A good indicator is the price of the rare op collection items. If they’re around 30-45mil, things are normal. If they’re much higher this far after release then pop is probably way down from norm. Holidays means lots of new games being played, but Anniversary Event will always bring an influx.

Saw this when all the layoffs were being talked about, but being a former 15 year SOE customer, it didn’t really shock me.

Every mmo is always at risk of shutting down. According to certain people, DCUO been dying since 2011. 2019 is approaching and DCUO is still here. Base on my observation (don't pretend I know the finical stuff) new content is coming out, they are adding new stuff, just added a new base, they upgrading the graphics to the characters. I would go with the no.

I would worry when they stop adding new stuff. Or they make an announcement.

I miss SWG. What an amazing world they created, only to Smedley it all up. Nothing lasts forever, tho.

Look at Daybreak Games as a company.

They have Everquest running. Everquest is a game that is literally 20 years old. Everquest has a much, much smaller playerbase than DCUO. Everquest is a much, much larger game, requiring more server space to run. It costs more, and it theoretically should bring in less, given that it is so many fewer players, and yet, it's still open and running for it's 20th anniversary.

DCUO is not going to close any time in the immediate future. If the population shrinks and the game makes less money, then much like Everquest, they will spend less money on the game. They might make the Episodes smaller. They might recycle more maps and resources. They might shift so that new chapters come every 6 months instead of every 3 months, investing less money and man-hours into the game. But they won't close it, because they run a multi-game company and they are going to be running servers either way. So even if they have to piggyback DCUO on one of the EQ2 servers or whatever and just keep it in maintenance mode, never putting any additional work on it, they'll still keep it open because they can spend nothing and still have it make money.

All they have to do to keep it profitable is spend less than it makes, and that's not hard to do when your company is going to be running all the server resources needed to host an MMO regardless.

And they had PvP participation nearly til the end. Plus a way better space combat engine than the still running STO....

I started at the 2nd year and this game has been called dying EVERY day since. It is also known as the #1 worst community..