Elden Ring Survey Reveals Why So Many People Buy the Game

Elden Ring, a massively popular Souls-like game, had sold 12 million copies within just three weeks after its launch. While not being a mainstream shooter or sports game, it still managed to gain recognition from a huge number of gamers. So, why did so many players pick it up?

GamesIndustry.biz conducted a survey among gamers who visited the PAX (USA) and EGX (Europe) shows to find out their reasons for both buying and not buying the latest FromSoftware's game.

Among over 200 gamers who participated in the survey, 35% bought Elden Ring. For 24% of them, it was the first Souls-like game they'd ever played. The news players gave several reasons for making Elden Ring their first go. 80% of them answered that it was the open-world setting that appealed to them, while 67% admitted that they picked up the game because of critical acclaim. 28% said it was recommendations from YouTube or other social media bloggers that made them try out new FromSoftware's game.

The other reasons included friend recommendations (40%) and George R.R. Martin’s involvement (27%). Besides, the new audience was also drawn by advertising (20%) or general challenge (6%), while some respondents were just looking for a new action game to play (6%).

Although the majority of gamers didn't purchase Elden Ring, and the main reason for that was lack of time (32%). Some people said that it was the difficulty of the game that scared them away (20%), others noted that they didn't find the theme and setting appealing (13%). Just 10% of the respondents told that Elden Ring was too expensive for them, with some of them adding that they would like to purchase it once the game is on sale.

That is just a small survey, of course, but it still sheds light on the huge popularity of the game. It also highlights how challenging Elden Ring is which might both draw players to the game as well as put them off of it.

You can find the original survey here. Also, don't forget to join our new Reddit page, our new Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.