xQc talks Lost Ark on Twitch.
Image via xQc/Smilegate

Why xQc is refusing to play Lost Ark despite MMO’s huge hype

One of Twitch’s biggest stars won’t be heading to Arkesia any time soon.

Felix “xQc” Lengyel has put his foot down after Twitch fans kept demanding he try gaming’s latest viral sensation, Lost Ark, dubbing the hit South Korean MMO “grindy” and boring to play.

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The superstar French-Canadian streamer has built his Twitch empire on variety gaming, regularly playing “flavor of the month” titles to rake in a few extra viewers.

This time, however, xQc has no interest in going with the popular crowd. Lost Ark has taken Twitch, Steam, and the gaming world by storm since its all-access launch on Feb. 11, but according to the streamer, it looks boring.

“It’s a very grindy game,” he said, adding it looks “weird” too.

“It’s very MMO-ish, [and] that’s not really my big forte these days,” xQc added. “I’ve played all these MMOs my entire life and I think I’ve just had my share of them.”

Image via Smilegate.

Lost Ark’s popularity has already hit a fever pitch since its mid-February launch. Late last week, Smilegate’s South Korean title climbed past 1.2 million registered players, prompting devs to take a second look at server limits.

The two-year-old fantasy MMO’s explosive arrival to western gaming isn’t going to change xQc’s mind, however. The Twitch star has never been one to bow to his fan’s wishes and he says he won’t be starting now.

“I don’t give a shit,” the streamer said of the game’s hype. “I don’t care. Do you want to know why? Because I don’t give a shit based on how many views it gets. It’s just simple.”

The Twitch star has been following the trajectory of Lost Ark since its early pre-release access stage. He believes it’s just a flash in the pan, and won’t be able to maintain its early hype and momentum into the future. Once everyone has grinded for a few weeks, xQc explains, it will disappear again.

“Every viewer comes out of the woodwork,” xQc added soon after, “then when the [Twitch] drops are over and the hype is done… these guys will completely disappear.”


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Author
Isaac McIntyre
Isaac McIntyre is the Aussie Editor at Dot Esports. He previously worked in sports journalism at Fairfax Media in Mudgee and Newcastle for six years before falling in love with esports—an ever-evolving world he's been covering since 2018. Since joining Dot, he's twice been nominated for Best Gaming Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism Awards and continues to sink unholy hours into losing games as a barely-Platinum AD carry. When the League servers go down he'll sneak in a few quick hands of the One Piece card game. Got a tip for us? Email: isaac@dotesports.com.