After two decades of nothing but success, Valve had its own ‘memento mori’. A reminder of mortality that came when they publicly announced one of their latest projects. Many video game fans know what happened when Blizzard introduced a mobile version of Diablo, but almost none are aware that the creators of Steam faced something very similar. Although there was no booing, the first reaction of fans when Artifact was revealed to the world was a cry of disappointment. People simply expected something different.
A comeback only Valve could achieve
Artifact was introduced in 2017 as the Dota card game. A move identical to the one Blizzard had made with Hearthstone almost four years earlier and seemed to arrive too late. Although card games had a peak moment during the past decade, it has always been a niche genre. This, combined with the fact that Valve had not released any new games since 2012, led to the initial disappointment.
Almost kept as a museum piece, the video capturing the reaction of the public to the presentation of Artifact allows us to clearly hear a “oooh” of disappointment when the phrase “the Dota card game” appears on the screen. It must be said, in defense of the company, that they did not choose the most receptive audience for the announcement. The game was presented to the world at a Dota 2 event where users were eager to discover the next innovations in their favorite MOBA.
Artifact is based on the world of Dota.
Despite everything being against it, Valve managed to turn the situation around. The company led by Gabe Newell is one that has earned its reputation for doing things right and presented two very important arguments in favor of Artifact. Firstly, it was promised that there would be an esports scene similar to Counter-Strike or Dota supported by the company. Secondly, it was announced that Richard Garfield, creator of Magic: The Gathering, was the creative mind behind the game’s design.
The major issues with Artifact
In the year that passed from the announcement of Artifact to its definitive release, Valve managed to change the public perception of the video game. However, the negativity returned on the same day as the official launch. The reviews of Artifact on Steam during its first month of life were ‘Mixed’, with only 49% of favorable votes out of over 16,000 opinions. An extremely low rating for a company that had only known success until then.
Playing Artifact was not so difficult, but the game felt very complex
Artifact had the big problem that when seen in videos, streams, or official Valve presentations; it seemed like a hugely complex game. It is important to note here that this “seemed”, because when playing it was not that difficult. However, this situation made it difficult to attract less interested audiences to card games. This was mostly due to what was then a fairly novel idea: it was played on three boards at once. A style that is now much more familiar thanks to Marvel Snap.
Similar to Marvel Snap, it was played on three boards at once.
Despite everything, the major problem with Artifact was its economy. Valve opted for a ‘pay to play’ model that did not sit well with users, especially because it did not come with any of the benefits associated with this type of titles. The developer wanted to create an open model in which players bought packs through the game and then sold and traded cards in the community market. Although this could be a good idea, it came with the problem that this was almost the only way to obtain cards.
The real problem of Artifact was its economy and monetization system
The business model was also disliked because it hindered gameplay. The most interesting game mode of Artifact was called Expert Play and worked similarly to Hearthstone’s arenas. By spending a ticket, you enter a kind of competition that ends when you win five matches or lose two (whichever comes first) and in which you will receive rewards in the form of packs and tickets to play again based on your number of wins. The problem was that if you ran out of tickets, you were forced to pay to get more.
Valve’s real failure
With a peak of 60,000 simultaneous players when it was released on November 28, 2018, the numbers plummeted dramatically. In March 2019 (just four months later), the game peaked at 815 people playing at the same time. Artifact was not a bad card game, but it failed in almost everything as a video game. It lacked any of those systems that make us want to dedicate time to it for months. The most fun game mode was hidden behind a paywall, there were no ranks, ways to get cards, or progression system.
As if Valve didn’t have enough problems, Magic: The Gathering Arena had debuted just before Artifact.
What’s worse is that during the beta, many warned Valve of the problems. However, the developer turned a deaf ear. Shannon “SUNSfan” Scotten, Dota 2 commentator and former professional Counter-Strike player, explained the situation in a fantastic report by Akshon Esports: “Many of the problems we mentioned during the beta were not corrected until after the launch. I don’t know if it was Richard Garfield’s doing, Valve’s, or both; but it didn’t seem like they valued our opinions.”
Mogwai, content creator and competitive player specializing in card games, was even harsher. “I want to be honest. Sorry if I offend any developer. I think Valve was very arrogant as a company. Closed beta players had a lot of experience. There were many people from many different games, streamers, youtubers, great players, people who knew a lot and weren’t as popular. We had PVDDR, the Magic world champion and still, they wouldn’t listen to us (…) Although it was done very politely, basically they told me to shut up, wait, and then understand why I was wrong. That level of arrogance.”
Valve did not remember its own mortality and released a video game whose poor performance had been predicted by many of those who had tried it. The developer realized this situation and tried to create an Artifact 2.0 with a “complete reevaluation of the game’s mechanics and economy.” However, the project died halfway. The image of the card video game was so tarnished that not even a company with such a special aura could recover. Currently, both Artifact: Classic (the original) and Artifact: Foundry (the 2.0 they were creating) can be played for free on Steam.
The only consolation we have is to think that Valve has realized that, although it is one of the most beloved companies in the entire video game industry, that does not make them invulnerable. With Deadlock in full development process, there is no better time to remember that.
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