Survival games have been one of the most successful genres in gaming for years – especially on Steam. Still, no game has yet managed to snag the title of “King of Survival MMOs.” Why is that? And can the new Sons of the Forest secure that title? MeinMMO editor and survival expert Benedict Grothaus is looking for an answer.
Survival games are huge. Not just as individual games, but as a genre in general. I see that every time a game is announced or released.
Valheim, for example, became an absolute hit on Steam in 2021. When I presented Return to Moria, the response from you here on MeinMMO and even outside of it was enormous. And no matter what we do about survival games: there are almost always dozens of people who want to talk about it.
For years there has been a huge potential here that somehow hardly any larger studio has served. The biggest survival games on Steam are all indie studio projects. According to steamcharts, the player peaks in February are:
There are also other titles such as Valheim or Conan Exiles, which also deliver thousands of players. If there were one game that would unite all fans of the genre, it could become a significant competitor for some of the front runners on Steam like Dota 2.
But that is exactly what is missing. A game that, like WoW in 2004, claims the entire market of players in the genre for itself simply does not exist in Survival.
Now comes Sons of the Forest and is the most wanted game on Steam before release. Does the new game have a shot at claiming the title of “one survival hit” that everyone plays? No, probably not. But …
All information about Sons of the Forest can be found here in the video in a slim 2 minutes:
Sons of the Forest is the most anticipated survival game on Steam – All information in 2 minutes
More videos
Sons of the Forest will not become the king, but the kingmaker
What I know so far about Sons of the Forest sounds really good. NPC companions, a new building system and a gripping story. Nevertheless, it remains an indie game from a developer who hardly ever communicates with the outside world.
I don’t want to list all the details of Sons of the Forest here. You can read the most important content in the hub:
Sons of the Forest: Everything about release, story and gameplay
The Twitter channel is practically dead, the latest version of the website speaks of a trademark from 2017, other social media or Discord are also not used. Then Sons of the Forest comes only for the PC, neither for PS5 nor for Xbox. That’s not enough for an absolute hit. Not anymore in 2023.
Still, Sons of the Forest will definitely be a hit. It is the most wanted title mainly because the predecessor was already so popular. The Forest is one of the best survival games ever.
More importantly, other games can learn from Sons of the Forest. One of the reasons why The Forest was so popular, why ARK has lasted so long, and why Valheim has become so successful is the combination of survival elements and story.
Instead of just delivering a sandbox like Rust and DayZ do, Sons of the Forest and Co. offer a story that you can follow as you play. And, in the case of The Forest, even with different endings.
This element is something that survival games are still largely missing: a story that underlies the world. The story is one of the reasons why WoW has long been considered the pinnacle of the MMORPG market.
Sons of the Forest will not become the king of survival MMOs. The studio is too small for this, the game will probably only be developed a little after the end of Early Access.
But if major studios take a look at what’s making Sons of the Forest so popular, it could mean we might have a survival top dog by 2024 at the latest. And in fact, several studios are working on claiming this very title for themselves.
In 2023 there will be a lot of potential survival hits coming your way. Gameplay of the 5 most promising is here:
Here is gameplay from the top 5 survival games coming out in 2023
More videos
A still growing genre: Even Blizzard is doing survival now
Developments in the recent past and in the near future show that developers and publishers have recognized the potential of survival games. Even big names are getting into the genre now, trying to carve out a bit of the mainstream player base.
Blizzard, for example, who have dominated the MMORPG market for years with WoW, are now planning a new survival game. There isn’t a lot of information about that yet. However, we do know that the size of the team has doubled in 2022 and even the former boss of Far Cry is now working on the title.
I’ve analyzed Blizzard’s decision before with similar arguments:
A survival game is now the only right decision from Blizzard
The new game shows that Blizzard recognizes the potential of survival games and is now using a lot of resources to be successful here. And they’re not the only ones.
2023 is going to be a pretty crazy year for survival fans. Big titles like ARK 2 and STALKER 2 are on the horizon, and many indie studios are also deciding to release a survival game this year.
Even veterans of the genre continue to work to dominate the market. Funcom, for example, who are behind Conan Exiles, are planning a completely new type of survival MMO with Dune: Awakening. Dune: Awakening is becoming more like an MMORPG and could redefine the genre by quasi simulating a living world.
The survival market is still dominated by indie projects, some of which have lasted for years. It is unlikely that any of these will ever become the first survival king. But they can serve as a springboard for the big publishers:
2 “small” indie games on Steam do one thing much better than the big AAA titles