Despite Borderlands 3 receiving positive reviews, its Twitch viewership has dwindled by over 80% since its release on September 13, 2019. The game peaked at just over 204k viewers on launch day and has plummeted down to just 18k viewers as of September 20th. It also dropped from ~6,000 channels streaming it daily to around 2,000. Now, it’s not unusual for a game to steadily lose Twitch viewers after release (see Apex Legends), but in this instance, the amount is noteworthy, especially for a high-profile release that has ingrained Twitch features for both streamers and viewers alike (known as ECHOcast). Is this a sign that the community is already losing interest or is it simply a case of people playing it rather than watching? After all, Gearbox has been touting some high numbers.
While fans were generally pleased with the game overall, some criticized the game’s dated humor and sluggish UI, with still more complaints aimed at some game-breaking bugs. These issues might be to blame for the loss in viewership, but is there something else that could explain the drastic disinterest? It’s tough to say, but with the abundance of games releasing, it’s easy to get distracted with the latest and greatest thing. This weekend, many players are likely jumping into the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare beta, so that could be stealing some of Borderlands 3’s thunder.
Below are charts showing the game’s steady decline in Twitch viewership.
This data doesn’t necessarily mean the game is in trouble or that it sold poorly. But it is peculiar, especially given its in-game Twitch integration (though it’s not yet fully functional with the console releases of the game).
Borderlands 3 will be supported with post-launch content, as is expected. In October, the game will be getting a spooky limited-time event called Bloody Harvest, just in time for Halloween. This event will add haunted enemies such as ghosts, and other Halloween-themed creatures. And as always, we’ll be sure to keep you updated with all things Borderlands 3, so make sure to keep checking into PSLS.
What do you make of the Borderlands 3 Twitch data? Is it unusual to you? Let us know!
[Source: Twitch]
