New MMORPG on Steam got off to a really bad start in Early Access – what’s going on?

The new sandbox MMORPG Fractured Online went into Early Access on September 15th on Steam. The game’s ratings are currently set to “mostly negative”. Why is that? We at MeinMMO explain the situation.

What is Fractured? The MMORPG that originated on Kickstarter aims to be the first “really dynamic” sandbox MMORPG. So it relies on an open world, survival aspects and a lot of role-playing in it.

The basic idea of ​​the game is that the three available races each represent a different game mode:

• The Wildfolk are peaceful and their planet is PvE only.
• The demons are evil, there is open world and full loot PvP
• People are somewhere in the middle and can take an in-between path

The cities in Fractured should also be built, operated and conquered entirely by players. There isn’t even real loot, since all items in the MMO are supposed to be made by users.

Where does Fractured currently stand? The game was originally supposed to come out in 2018, but was then delayed several times. It is also gone from the Kickstarter model and has now found a publisher in Gamigo who sells the game.

A beta for Fractured has also been running continuously for the last year. In principle, everyone who pre-ordered could already play. On September 15, the MMORPG then started in early access on Steam and the in-house platform Glyph. It was also expanded to include wild folk. Only the demons are currently missing.

But this very early access start is not going well for Fractured at all.

This live-action trailer promotes the game with a song by Lara Loft:

Poor start on Steam – Only 38% positive ratings

How is the game doing? Not good at all. The launch on Steam was accompanied by some problems. For example, some users could not successfully link their Glyph account to Steam and had to wait for a response from support in order to be able to play at all.

But even in the game itself, many of the fans do not seem to be satisfied. After a few days, the game only achieved 38% positive ratings from almost 240 reviews. This results in the score “mostly negative” on Steam and has an enormous deterrent effect on many players.

However, this does not seem to bother the active players. While the peak was 1,515 concurrent users on Steam at the time of release, it is still 1,188 four days later (via SteamDB). So what’s the problem with Fractured Online?

High Standards for Early Access: If you look at the comments on Steam, it quickly becomes clear where the negative reviews come from. Many fans were expecting a game that was more finished than Fractured currently is.

There are still many features, skills and even a whole people missing in the early access version, which should remain online for about a year. Furthermore, technical problems are complained about. According to users, slow servers are also a problem.

While early access means a game isn’t finished, many other early access games are already at higher standards, which is why Fractured isn’t doing well with fans right now.

“The game needs a lot more time”

What are people saying? The general mood is rather depressed. Both the positive and negative comments note that Fractured simply still has a lot of problems. Some are so disappointed that they leave a negative review.

But even the positive reviews admit that. The good reviews usually praise the idea of ​​Fractured and say that the MMORPG can have a lot of potential, but is not yet living it up.

The negative reviews confirm this and many agree that Fractured would take much longer than a year to become really good. One user even goes so far as to call the MMORPG a “rip-off” because he thinks it’s far too unfinished.

Other voices call for patience. An Early Access title is simply not finished yet and there is still a lot to do. Almost everyone agrees that there is still a lot to improve and optimize in the game.

These are the reviews: At this point we would like to give you some of the comments directly so that you can get an idea of ​​the situation for yourself (via Steam):

• Syther writes: “The game takes time. I can’t even remap my mouse buttons and the servers seem to be only in America, at least I have a ping of 170 all the time. But I don’t expect much from an indie game in early access either.”
• Marabu says: “The idea behind the game is good, but unfortunately the implementation is rather mediocre. The performance and the combat system feel strange and that there is only one server is clearly noticeable in the ping. Nevertheless, I see a lot of potential in the game and will continue to pursue it.”
• Kev says, “Well, an early access title that feels like a very early alpha.”
• Kavorka writes: “Yes, it has many bugs. But the developers regularly submit updates. Just give the game a try if you liked games like Albion.”

Have you already played Fractured Online? What do you think of the game? Would you rate it more positively or negatively? And if you haven’t played it yet, would you like to try it? Feel free to write us in the comments here on MeinMMO.

Incidentally, the CEO of the studio told us in an interview how things will continue in and after early access: Medieval MMORPG Fractured shows new endgame – lets you fight for control of asteroids