Top cause of players leaving PS2 (2014)

[Gimpylung]

Maybe PS2 has seen declines in population like any other FPS such as BF3/4 or CoD because the game was aimed to appeal to exactly the same demograph. Pops of those games are nowhere near their highest a year and a half later, hence why EA and Activision just rewrap them with a few new maps and some gameplay tweaks year after year. SOE obviously don't have the same ability to relaunch like that.

I honestly think blaming a few base redesigns or weapon/gameplay adjustments is kinda missing the larger picture.

This game is probably perceived as an FPS first and an MMO second by a casual player and as such gets the typical investment of time an FPS gets rather than an MMO.

Hopefully it'll just find its natural level with a playerbase that actually is invested in the game as opposed to a fickle FPS crowd that are always just moving onto the next thing. Whether or not that playerbase is enough to sustain the game as a viable business proposition for SOE remains to be seen. I hope it is.