From Launch To Life Support: Trove Lost 98% Of Its Players

Trove first launched on Steam in July 2015 and immediately captured attention thanks to the voxel game craze at the time. The free-to-play MMORPG was colorful and chaotic. It mixed Minecraft’s blocky charm with loot-driven progression. Players could leap into procedurally generated worlds, slay monsters, gather resources, and use those resources to build castles, clubs, and sprawling creations that filled the landscape. At its height, Trove — an indie game — reached nearly 59,000 concurrent players on Steam. For a while, Trion Worlds looked like it had discovered the perfect blend of creativity and action.

Fast forward to 2025, Trove now averages just under 900 concurrent players on Steam, with daily peaks barely breaking 1,300. That represents a staggering 98% drop from its all-time high. While the game remains available on PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch, the PC population is telling of the big picture. What went wrong?

The first factor is time. Trove launched when voxel games were seeing a surge in popularity. Games like Cube World and Terraria were frequently dominating online conversations, and so this game felt like the natural MMO evolution of a genre that everyone was interested in. A decade later, that genre has lost much of its novelty. Today, Trove appears to many fans as dated, both visually and mechanically, compared to modern competitors with more complex physics, higher fidelity graphics, and more dynamic gameplay systems.

Content pacing has also played a significant role in the decline. After Gamigo acquired Trion Worlds in 2018, the game sort of entered maintenance mode. The servers stayed online and seasonal events continued, but the expansions that once drove population spikes became increasingly rare. Players were running the same dungeons, farming the same materials, and grinding the same gear over and over again. When major updates did arrive, they frequently introduced incremental systems rather than game-changing features.

Monetization is another sticking point. Trove leans heavily on selling classes, mounts, wings, and convenience boosts in its cash shop. Over time, the grind for core progression items such as Chaos Chests, Dragon Fragments, and Geode resources has become steeper, leaving casual players feeling way behind. Those who are willing to spend real money can bypass much of the grind and reach endgame far faster. It is not the most aggressive pay-to-win model on the market, but it has created a noticeable gap between free players and paying players. Newcomers have trouble catching up to veterans without spending money.

Community health has taken a hit as well. The game’s steep population collapse has had a ripple effect across the game’s social systems. Emptier worlds mean slower trading, fewer public farming groups, and fewer interactions. Dedicated veterans still run clubs, build empires, and organize events, but these communities now have to be actively sought out rather than stumbled upon naturally. 

Despite the decline, though, Trove is not dead. I would not say that. The game still receives seasonal events, bug fixes, and occasional content updates. Its cross-platform availability means the overall player base is almost certainly larger than what Steam shows, too. The game offers a cozy, grindy sandbox where you can build, farm, and hunt. And it is free. 

Maybe Trove can turn things around. A major expansion, a graphical overhaul, or cross-progression between platforms could breathe new life into the game. Hopefully, there is a plan set for the future of Trove that is bright.