Just one week after its Steam debut on the 24th, 'Hoyeon (Blade & Soul Heroes)' has seen its peak concurrent players drop to a third of its launch day figures. It started with 2,999 players, but by the 29th, that number had fallen to 953—a 68% decrease.

The trajectory for Hoyeon has been a steady downward slope. After hitting a peak of 2,999 on the 24th, the following day saw a 45% drop to 1,648. The numbers continued to slide through the weekend, eventually dipping below the 1,000 mark by the sixth day. Even for a launch that started with modest numbers, this steady decline is a concerning trend.

The Steam user review situation has not improved significantly. Shortly after release, the game sat at 'Mostly Negative' with 133 reviews, and as of the 29th, it remains stuck at 'Mixed' with 440 reviews. The primary criticism remains the monetization model centered around character gacha, which players feel is overly aggressive. This issue has persisted since launch and remains unresolved.

While technical issues like launch errors and bugs can be addressed through updates or patches, the monetization model is central to the game's design. A major overhaul would be required to address player concerns, which is a difficult decision given its direct impact on revenue.

If the goal was to make a mark in Western and global markets via Steam, more effort should have been put into refining the content and monetization strategy before launch. Since the decline was evident from the very beginning—a period when the game should have been at its most active—a serious rethink is required to turn things around.