The First Descendant servers buckle as brief connection issues add to performance woes and microtransaction complaints from fans

Popular new Steam game on the block, The First Descendant, was briefly unavailable to play due to server issues, adding another wrinkle to a less-than-ideal launch.

Developer Nexon first acknowledged the issue on Twitter the other day, apologizing for the “inconvenience caused” by the connection error. An hour later, the developer revealed that the issues stemmed from an MS Network error, and as such, the developer would need to wait for recovery, which just about happened an hour later.  

Server issues happen, though the connection wobbles have added to what’s already been a rough launch. The First Descendant launched to ‘mixed’ Steam reviews due to technical issues making the game harder to play. In response, Nexon is kicking off three days of increased XP and gold gains to say sorry. 

The First Descendant has also received criticism over microtransaction practices. While somewhat standard fare for a free-to-play game, the co-op looter shooter’s take isn’t landing with many. 

“Warframe but made by Nexon,” One review says. “The game is heavily monetized and handled by a greedy publisher with shady practices, but it’s a good change of scenery if you’re from Warframe. It’s a free game; give it a try, but avoid ‘investing’ in it.” 

Despite the bumpy start, The First Descendant is pulling in a lot of players on Steam. As per SteamDB, the looter shooter hit a peak of 229,257 players a few days back. Reviews from those players, though, remain ‘Mixed.’

Jumping in yourself? Here are the best characters in The First Descendant.