Battlefield Hardline is practically dead, with more players on PS3 than PC
Buying the season pass for Battlefield Hardline was probably a bad investment.
The reveal of Battlefield Hardline wasn't met with the enthusiasm expected for a Battlefield title. And although the game's image has changed dramatically since then - between two betas, and a release date delay - the PC community seemed to always be interested in Hardline the least.
As I was writing this story detailing Betrayal, the game's upcoming DLC drop, I decided to check BFHStats to see just how active the game's community is. I knew I wouldn't like the numbers since they've always managed to drop every time I remember to check, but what I saw was truly amazing.
As of this writing there are less than 1,000 online players on PC, peaking at 2,594 in the last 24 hours. The PlayStation 3 has 1,696 active players now, with a peak of 3,262 during the last 24 hours. PS4 and Xbox One numbers are better, but nowhere near Battlefield 4.
To put these numbers into perspective, the PC has more players than PS3 in both Battlefield 3, and Bad Company 2, two much older games.
One one hand it's unsurprising the game's luster dissipated quickly, especially among PC players. On the other, not even its most ardent critics could've predicted such a quick downfall.
I bought the PC version on launch and didn't play it that much, and almost wrote it off as money down the drain. But I can't imagine how I would've felt if I had invested in the season pass. Come March when Betrayal is out - judging by player activity with previous DLCs - how many players do you think will be coming back, even with the draw of free content?
More than likely you won't find populated servers for the majority of game modes, and will instead only see two or three servers rotating the four new maps. And they're probably going to be running Conquest 64, the worst mode you could play in Hardline.
Visceral tried some interesting mechanics with Hardline, and some will no doubt find their way into future Battlefield games. Unfortunately, Hardline remains an off-shoot most didn't ask for, and those who were willing to give it a try, left in a hurry,