Is Stealth No Longer in Fashion? Styx: Blades of Greed Achieves the Series’ Second-Best Result

While stealth games were once a staple of the industry, the genre has struggled to maintain its footing in recent years as player preferences have evolved.

The Styx franchise debuted during the PS4 and Xbox One era, earning critical praise for capturing the essence of classic Thief-style gameplay at a time when the Eidos series had faded into obscurity. Following two moderately successful installments, the latest chapter, Styx: Blades of Greed, was released to continue the goblin’s stealthy exploits.

Unfortunately, the launch has been underwhelming for developer Cyanide. The game recorded the second-lowest player count in the series’ history. Although the numerical difference from the original title isn’t massive, the performance feels significantly more niche when considering that Steam’s total user base has grown exponentially over the last decade. While a peak of 1,150 concurrent players might be enough for an AA project to recoup its costs, these figures remain modest at best.

Steam peak player counts and user ratings:

• Styx: Master of Shadows — 1,639 (83% positive)
• Styx: Shards of Darkness — 1,241 (84% positive)
• Styx: Blades of Greed — 1,150 (70% positive)

Source: iXBT.games