New Xbox game crashes on Steam despite great reviews

The latest project from Microsoft's subsidiary Double Fine Productions, a surreal exploration game Keeper is struggling to get out of the starting gate, with less than 200 active players on Steam just a day after launch. Despite relatively positive reviews across the board, with many applauding its gorgeous visuals and surreal world-building, Keeper seems to have caught the attention of a wide audience yet.

Keeper Players take on the role of a sentient beacon led by an adorable bird friend and embark on an adventure of exploration through a vibrant post-apocalyptic world. Many early reviews praised the special friendship between the two main characters and the untold central story Keeper. However, the game may be a bit too out-of-the-box for the casual player, with initial interest falling short of expectations.

Keeper Steam Player counts

According to analysis from SteamDB, Keeper managed to reach the maximum concurrent player count of 191 users on Steam at the time of writing. For a game published directly by Xbox Game Studios, this number will soon hit the audience, who are now wondering why the number of players is so low despite the positive reviews. Some pointed to recently released games like Ghost of Yotei and Battlefield 6 as potentially stealing the spotlight from a simpler walking sim beacon and others asking if Keeper should have received more official promotion from Xbox to help draw attention to the quirky title.

So-called walking simulators often have less reach among gamers, although notable games like What's Left of Edith Finch and The Stanley Parable they were able to cement a legacy for themselves with heartfelt storytelling and surreal humor, respectively. While player counts aren't necessarily “be all, end all” gameplay, they can greatly affect any potential for future releases from the same teams and whether projects within similar genres are approved by a publisher. We'll see if the limited positive reviews for Keeper will help boost word of mouth, although select fans hope to see increased support for the unsung game.

The sheer volume of games released in 2025 has already led to some studios choosing to delay their projects until 2026, and more than a few titles have been lost in the near-constant wave of launches. Despite the remarkable charm and sincere support of select players, it would seem Keeper she simply tried to make a big impact early on, though it's unknown if that will change over time.