Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is officially out and despite positive reviews from critics and players, it's failing to capture an audience on Steam. The game lags far behind the original's player count, which some blame on Xbox Game Pass.

According to SteamDB, Hellblade 2 peaked at just under 4,000 concurrent players on its launch day on May 21. Those numbers have since dropped significantly, with the 24-hour peak now being less than 50 percent of what it’s seeing. By contrast, the original game peaked at around 6,000 concurrent players seven years ago, and current concurrent player numbers are a few hundred shy of what the sequel is seeing. The exact reason for this isn’t entirely clear, though there are signs that the game’s day one Game Pass availability is cutting into its Steam presence.

The waning hype may also have played a role in the game’s less-than-stellar launch. The first trailer was revealed during The Game Awards in 2019, and waiting nearly five years has likely hurt its momentum. Players discussing the release in a May 24 Reddit thread argue that Game Pass is ultimately the biggest culprit, as the game’s high price point and short story didn’t justify a full purchase compared to a $10 subscription. “This is probably the most ‘Gamepassable’ game ever put on the service,” one player said.

The original game wasn't all that popular either, all things considered, and wasn't even initially available on Xbox, but rather on PlayStation. After Microsoft acquired its development studio Ninja Theory, the sequel was ported to Xbox and PC, possibly costing it its core audience on Sony's platform.