Shroud claims low Twitch stats don’t matter for MMOs like New World and WoW

Shroud alongside New World character pointing to sky with beam of lightTwitch: Shroud/Amazon Games

Twitch star Michael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek believes low viewership numbers for MMO’s like World of Warcraft and New World doesn’t necessarily make them bad games like some viewers may believe. 

Over the last few months, a handful of different MMOs have been on the rise on Twitch. Players have flocked to New World, Final Fantasy XIV Online, and World of Warcraft throughout 2021, and that includes Shroud.

The former Counter-Strike pro may have made his name with his crisp aim and impressive FPS kills, but he has a love of MMOs as well, as he’s even made New World his go-to game of choice recently.

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After the initial hype around Amazon Games’ first title, it has slowly slipped down the charts on Twitch, with many viewers and players suggesting that there is not enough content or the game simply isn’t good enough to keep people interested long term.

shroud-praise-new-world-devsAmazon Games / Twitch: Shroud
Shroud has been playing a lot of New World on stream.

Well, for Shroud, he believes that the dwindling Twitch viewership figures of some MMOs don’t really matter, or make them a bad game, because, at the end of the day, they’re meant to be played rather than watched.

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“Low views on a game doesn’t mean the game is bad. It just means people would rather play it than watch, you know?” he said during his November 27 stream. “It’s like any MMO. Who the f**k wants to watch an MMO? It’s all about being in the world and playing it.

“There is nothing exceptional you can really do in an MMO that’s like, ‘Wow, I need to watch this guy! Holy f**k!’ Like yeah, if you PvP, I guess, but MMOs are so easy.”

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The Canadian streamer noted that New World is “interesting” to him when it comes to watching it because it has more action.

Ultimately though, Shroud noted that if a viewer doesn’t want to watch, they probably won’t do so. They might just be enjoying playing it for themselves instead.