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Embark Studios’ highly destructive action-packed FPS, The Finals, is off to a blazing fast start, as the high-stakes shoot ’em up now boasts more than 200,000 concurrent users after being released a little less than 24 hours ago. What makes this even more of an astonishing feat is the fact that the game’s launch was barely announced during The Game Awards 2023 as part of a short albeit exciting trailer.
Previously, Embark Studios had provided no indication that the game would be launched towards the end of the year, so most expected The Finals release date to be postponed into 2024. Luckily, their decision to drop it without warning seems to have worked in their favor because, based on the number of users currently playing it on Steam, which is sitting at around 130,000+ players as of writing, the development team already seems to have a hit on its hands.
Of course, much like any newly released game, there have been a few issues and controversies surrounding the game that threatened its launch, such as its use of AI voices and a frustrating visual problem that had players searching for ways on how to fix black screen error on startup in The Finals. However, even these obstacles haven’t been enough to deter the hype train from chugging ahead and bringing the fan base along with it, as evidenced by the plethora of comments on social media praising The Finals.
A player on Reddit even went so far as to call The Finals “the best FPS game” and that it is “otherwise a 10/10 in comparison to every other game on the market.” One commenter then agreed with the former’s sentiment, saying they “would never play CoD again” because “this game is so much more fun and non-toxic.”
But just like any ongoing live-service game, only time will truly tell if The Finals can keep up this level of engagement and player interactivity. Now, before you jump back in to continue your path of environmental destruction, take a look at our guides on the best gadgets to use in The Finals, the best guns to use in The Finals, and the best Heavy Build loadout in The Finals.