I popped back into The First Descendant last month after a 6 month break, mostly because my group of gaming friends were hyped for the new Void Hunt update. Halfway through our first run, one of them paused and asked a question I’ve seen pop up on Reddit and Discord constantly lately: is the first descendant still playable? It’s a fair question, especially for anyone who dipped out after the rocky launch period, or who’s scrolling through game pass looking for a new looter to sink hours into. There’s no shortage of live service games that shut down within a year of release, so it’s normal to want to check if a title is worth investing time into before you download 80+ GB of files.
Is The First Descendant Still Playable: Core Game State Right Now
First, the short answer to the core question is yes, the game is very much active and playable for both new and returning players. Steam charts show an average of 15,000+ daily active players on PC alone, with peaks hitting 30,000 on weekends, and crossplay support adds hundreds of thousands more console players across PlayStation and Xbox. Crossplay matchmaking works across all platforms, so you never have trouble finding a group for endgame content even if you play at off-peak hours.
Developer support is still going strong too, with regular content updates dropping every 2 to 3 months, plus smaller hotfixes and balance patches every couple of weeks. The dev team has been very responsive to community feedback, rolling out changes to loot systems, character balance, and performance based on player surveys and Discord feedback. Servers are also far more stable than they were at launch, with almost no unplanned downtime reported in the last 6 months.
Microtransactions are still strictly cosmetic, which is a big win for players who hate pay-to-win mechanics. You can buy skins for characters and weapons, extra inventory slots, and battle passes, but none of these purchases give you an advantage in PvE or PvP content. All core gameplay content is available for free to every player, no paywalls required.
What Content Is Available For New And Returning Players
The game has grown a lot since launch, with almost double the content that was available when it first released. The entire base story campaign is still free to access, and there are now 12 unique playable characters to unlock, up from 8 at launch. If you’re a returning player who hasn’t logged in for more than 6 months, you’ll find a ton of new content you haven’t seen before:
- 3 new large-scale Void Hunt raid tiers, with exclusive legendary gear and limited-time character skins for clearing them on the highest difficulty
- 2 open world exploration zones in the Vylar Region, with side quests, hidden collectibles, and world bosses that respawn every 2 hours for guaranteed rare drops
- The ranked PvP mode Gladiator’s Arena, with seasonal rewards that include exclusive skins and quality of life items that carry over to PvE gameplay
- The New Player Onboarding Rework, which cuts the tutorial time in half and gives free rare gear to get you to endgame 30% faster than before
All post-launch PvE content is 100% free for all players, so you don’t have to buy any battle passes or DLC to access new missions, zones, or characters. The level cap has also been raised to 60, with expanded skill trees for every character that let you customize builds far more than you could at launch. You can now build characters for specific roles like support, crowd control, or high DPS, making team play feel far more strategic than it used to.
Common Launch Complaints (And If They’re Fixed Now)
Most of the negative reviews you’ll see for the game are from the first month after launch, when the game had a lot of teething problems. I ran into most of these issues myself when I first played, so I was pleasantly surprised to see how many of them have been addressed. The biggest complaint was long matchmaking times for endgame raids, which could take 10+ minutes at off-peak hours. Crossplay support fixed that almost entirely, and now average queue times for even the hardest raids are under 2 minutes 90% of the time.
Another common complaint was bad loot drop rates, where you could run a raid 10 times and walk away with no legendary gear. Devs adjusted drop rates to guarantee at least one legendary per 3 raid runs, and added a pity system that tracks your runs so you never go too long without getting a gear piece for your current build. I ran 4 Void Hunt raids last week and got 3 legendaries, which is a huge improvement from the launch drop rates.
Performance issues were also a big problem at launch, with constant stuttering and crashes on both PC and console. The dev team has released 4 major performance patches since then, and most mid-tier PC players report a stable 60+ FPS on high settings now. Last-gen console versions run at a stable 30 FPS, and current-gen consoles get a solid 60 FPS with performance mode enabled. I used to get at least one crash per play session at launch, and I’ve put 20 hours in over the last month without a single crash.
Should You Start Or Return To The First Descendant Right Now?
This depends a lot on what you’re looking for in a game, but for most looter shooter fans, it’s absolutely worth giving a shot. If you enjoy games like Warframe or Destiny 2, you’ll love the fast-paced combat and build customization options. The co-op gameplay is especially well done, with each character having a unique role that makes team play feel rewarding instead of just a bunch of players running around doing their own thing.
If you’re a more casual player, you’ll be happy to hear that weekly challenges only take 3 to 4 hours to complete, so you don’t have to grind 20 hours a week to keep up with the meta. The game’s active community regularly shares build guides and carries new players through endgame content on Discord and Reddit, so you don’t have to worry about being stuck if you’re still learning the mechanics. New players get a free starter pack until the end of the current season that includes a rare character skin, 10 extra inventory slots, and a level 30 boost to skip the early grind if you want.
That said, it’s not for everyone. If you prefer single-player, story-focused games, the main campaign is pretty generic and most of the endgame content is built for co-op play. If you hate any sort of live service grind, you’ll still have to run raids multiple times to get the exact gear you want, even with the improved drop rates. There’s also no pay-to-skip option for gear, so you have to put in the play time if you want to get the best builds.
At the end of the day, if you’re on the fence about giving the game a shot, the short answer to is the first descendant still playable is a resounding yes. It’s come a long way from its rocky launch, with more content, better performance, and a dedicated player base that’s only growing as devs keep adding quality updates. You don’t have to spend a dime to try it out, so if you’ve got a few extra hours and love looter shooters, it’s absolutely worth downloading. I know I’ll be logging back in this weekend to grind the new Void Hunt raid with my friends, and I’d definitely recommend you give it a shot too.