Destiny 2's Google Stadia Player Count is Dropping Fast

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Destiny 2's Google Stadia Player Count is Dropping Fast

Since the launch of Google Stadia, the number of Destiny 2 players choosing the platform as their preferred destination have dropped by over half. Stadia, which launched in November, was Google's first foray into the gaming market. Stadia is a cloud-based service that allows users to play games on a variety of devices via streaming.

The streaming nature of Stadia, though, is also one of its drawbacks. Only those with reliable Internet connections can use the service, and those who want to play without Wi-Fi have to commit to using up a lot of data being spent on Stadia. There were also problems with Stadia's release: many who pre-ordered the Founder's Edition did not get access to the service at launch, meaning that they also didn't get first dibs on registering display names, as they should have. As a result, some users began demanding refunds. Games on Stadia for subscribers are also limited: players only get one free game per month, although there is an option to buy games for full price. However, Stadia's launch did include free access to Destiny 2, the highly popular MMORPG.

A week after launch, Destiny 2 had over 19,000 players on Stadia. But, according to Forbes, that number has dropped drastically since then. As of January 2020, Destiny 2 has only a little over 8,000 players on the service. This is a drop of over half. Although other platforms did see some lack of interest in Destiny 2, the player numbers for PC, PS4 and the Xbox One aren't as affected. This problem seems to exist on Stadia solely.


So what's going on with Stadia Destiny 2 players? Maybe it's a case of players taking Stadia with them while visiting family over the holidays, but returning to their preferred systems now that they are home. It's also likely that some players just signed up because Destiny 2 was free, but they didn't see anything in the game to keep them playing. Another factor is the data issue: most services have data caps, which makes long-term playing on Stadia impossible. Streaming also inevitably has its problems, which could make gaming on Stadia frustrating.

There is a more significant problem, though, that could easily explain the drop in Destiny 2 players on Stadia. Because Stadia has a more limited user base, teaming up with other players on missions is more difficult because the player pool is smaller. This means long wait times for finding a party. Although it's possible to do some solo playing in Destiny 2, many of the title's main missions require other players. If there aren't enough of those players, why bother?

Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia.