Lost Ark is a top-tier MMORPG that was first released in 2025 in South Korea. It was then expanded and introduced to further regions around the world in February 2025 by Amazon Games. It became an overnight sensation, dominating content creation platforms and racking up millions of players, but since it launched four years ago, people have started to ask, is Lost Ark dead? It’s a fair question, as any game will inevitably succumb to the passage of time – but are people still playing Lost Ark in 2025?
In this breakdown, we’re taking a look at the future of the game. We’ll be working out the Lost Ark player count and viewership to determine if the game is dead or dying. It was popular enough when it was first released, but has that popularity dwindled dramatically over time? There’s a beating heart of a community at the centre of the game that’s keeping it pumped full of players, but how sizeable and dedicated is that community?
Let’s jump into the debate and find out once and for all: is Lost Ark dead?
Is Lost Ark Dead?
When Lost Ark was released in EU and NA regions, it dominated Twitch, and some of the best streamers in the world became heavily involved in the game. At its peak, it boasted almost 1.3 million concurrent viewers on Twitch, with several thousand channels streaming it at the same time. There are so few games released that hit these kinds of numbers, so immediately, the top MMORPG, Lost Ark, had a strong beginning.
From that record high, Lost Ark started dropping in viewership – as most games do. Within a year, that peak viewer count had dropped to around 10,000 concurrent users. There was a resurgence toward the end of 2025 caused by a massive update, taking the peak back up to around 60,000 viewers, but that too dropped rather fast. At the time of writing, the 7-day average viewer count sits at around 11,700 users.
In terms of the Lost Ark player count, we can take a look at the numbers that are tracked on Steam. When Lost Ark was released, it pushed over 1.3 million concurrent players, and within a year, that number had fallen to around 230,000. That’s not bad – other games have fared much worse in that space, so it was a testament to the staying power of Lost Ark. By December 2025, the average player count was floating around 50,000 users. Again, that’s not terrible – it’s still a strong number.
It certainly doesn’t seem like Lost Ark is dying. If it is, it’s not happening quickly.
What is Happening with Lost Ark?
Image Credit: Lost Ark
In December 2025, Amazon Games published the 2025 roadmap for Lost Ark, revealing a lot of content yet to come. It was an update that spoke of epic Legion Raids, anniversary celebrations, new character classes, story quests, and progression systems. It’s a positive sign that the game is still being supported long into the future, as by now, competing titles would have started wavering – and have done so in the past.
It’s no big secret that Amazon Games has had some issues with server stability, but it’s not a problem that is being ignored. On the 20th of June, 2025, it was revealed that 300,000 players were stripped from the game as part of a ‘ban wave’, which is a common enough occurrence in multiplayer games. This is a situation replicated in titles like Escape from Tarkov and Call of Duty: Warzone, and ultimately, it’s of no real concern.
There’s plenty in store for the game, and for those asking, ‘is Lost Ark dead’, the definitive answer at the moment is, no. Lost Ark is not dead or dying.
It remains a competitive, entertaining, and enjoyable game. While we’re not expecting esports tournaments to surface anytime soon in Lost Ark, it’s another angle for players to actively enjoy the game. With a healthy, dense roadmap ahead, consistently high player and viewer numbers, and the support of Amazon Games, it seems highly unlikely that Lost Ark is dying anytime soon.
