Phasmophobia’s developer Kinetic Games currently only has one individual working there, and this same person developedPhasmophobiaall on their own. As a result, thegame has several bugs and glitchesplaguing it, which is understandable consideringPhasmophobia’s mentioned conditions. Still, bugs and glitches would usually negatively impact any game that has to deal with them, but inPhasmophobia’s case, they haven’t slowed down the game’s rising popularity at all.
According to GitHyp, a site that compiles and displays various video games stats,Phasmophobiabecame one of the top five most-played games on Steam this past weekend, having peaked at 86,491 players in only its third week since release. Overall,Phasmophobiahas managed to become one of the most played indie-games of 2020 despite having to contend with bugs and only being three weeks old. It’s right up there withFall GuysandAmong Us.
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Phasmophobia’s popularity comes from several factors. As a 4-player co-op game,Phasmophobiagives people the social interaction they’ve been craving during the coronavirus pandemic. Time is also ticking down to Halloween, whichPhasmophobianicely aligns itself with as a horror game. On top of this,Phasmophobiahas been a huge success on platforms such as Twitch and YouTube. It may have only taken 5th place on Steam over the weekend, but it took the number one spot on Twitch, hitting more than 247,000 viewers, andbeating out new releases such asStar Wars: Squadrons, andCrash Bandicoot 4.
Most importantly, though,Phasmophobia’s popularitystems from how well it’s designed. Regardless of its bugs, fans of the game praise how it’s managed to capture an immersive and haunting atmosphere, which many have compared to the acclaimedPT demo developed by Kojima Productions. The game also receives praise for its unique set of mechanics, such as proximity-based chat, which only allows players to hear their teammates whenever their avatars are near each other.
Given how wellPhasmophobiais doing for itself, it’s likely that Kinetic Games will be earning enough to hire more people soon. With that in mind, the bugsPhasmophobiahas shouldn’t be around for too much longer, and it will be receiving more content updates faster. Not too long ago, Kinetic Games released a road map in the form of aTrello boardthat details what the developer has in store forPhasmophobia’s future, so fans can see what exactly Kinetic Games has planned and what it’s currently working on right now.
