The First Descendant

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

The First Descendant
Xbox cover art for The First Descendant
Xbox cover art
DeveloperNexon
PublisherNexon
EngineUnreal Engine 5[1]
Platforms
Release2 July 2024
GenreThird-person looter shooter
ModeMultiplayer

The First Descendant is a free-to-play multiplayer online role-playing looter shooter developed and published by Nexon. The game was released on 2 July 2024.

Screenshot of The First Descendant
Screenshot of The First Descendant

Controversies

[edit]

AI ads

[edit]

In August, 2025, The First Descent attracted controversy ahead of its third season for its use of generative AI in its ads on TikTok.[2] The ads featured AI generated influencers reacting to footage of the game. The ads attracted criticism from TikTok users and fans of the game. In addition to influencers completely generated from scratch, the ads also featured generatively edited footage of streamer DanieltheDemon. The footage was taken from his most popular video and was edited via generative AI to include him talking about the game.[3]

Nexon later responded to the controversy, saying that the controversial videos were submitted through TikTok's Creative Challenge program, which allows users to submit their own ads to brands for money.[4] Nexon alleged that TikTok's current system had no means of detecting if footage submitted was potentially infringing on copyright.[5] However, some publications felt that Nexon was at fault for the ads despite that, as they should have checked the ads that were submitted before using them.[3]

Reception

[edit]

The First Descendant received "mixed or average reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic.[12]

The game received mixed reviews on Steam at launch, with players criticizing its grind and feeling it incentivized purchasing microtransactions.[13] Despite this, the game topped Steam's best-sellers chart upon release,[14] and reached a player count of 10 million during its first week.[15]

Six months after launch, the game lost 96.4% of its Steam player base.[16][17][18][19]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Tatsumoto, Kai (26 June 2024). "The First Descendant Summer Game Fest Impressions - Let the (Loot) Rain Fall on Me". Wccftech.
  2. ^ Taylor-Hill, Grant (18 August 2025). "First Descendant Devs 'Investigating' Shady AI TikTok Ads". Insider Gaming. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  3. ^ a b Yeo, Amanda (19 August 2025). "Video game caught using AI-generated influencers in TikTok ads". Mashable. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  4. ^ "TikTok Creative Challenge: Unlocking the Power of Creativity | Creative Strategies". ads.tiktok.com. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  5. ^ "The First Descendant Dev Apologizes After TikToks Featured AI Versions Of Content Creators Without Their Permission". GameSpot. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  6. ^ "The First Descendent for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 29 August 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  7. ^ Dawson, Christian (8 July 2024). "Review: The First Descendant". Destructoid. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  8. ^ Wakeling, Richard (19 July 2024). "The First Descendant Review - Grind Me Down". GameSpot. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  9. ^ Northup, Travis (9 July 2024) [June 11, 2024]. "The First Descendant Review". IGN. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  10. ^ van der Velde, Issy (11 July 2024). "The First Descendant Review (PS5)". Push Square. Gamer Network. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  11. ^ Broadwell, Josh (9 July 2024). "The First Descendant review: 'We have Destiny at home'". Shacknews. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  12. ^ "The First Descendant". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  13. ^ Macgregor, Jodie (15 July 2024). "Despite its 'mixed' user rating on Steam, The First Descendant has racked up over 10 million players in its first week". PC Gamer. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  14. ^ Cryer, Hirun (2 July 2024). "Co-op looter shooter The First Descendant dethrones Elden Ring as Steam's top seller, but 43% positive early user reviews frame a rough start overall". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  15. ^ Lewis, Catherine (12 July 2024). "The First Descendant hits 10 million players in a week despite rough start with 52% positive Steam reviews: 'We will do our best to bring you great experiences'". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  16. ^ Tassi, Paul (14 January 2025). "Live Looter 'The First Descendant' Has Lost 96% Of Its Playerbase In Six Months". Forbes. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 22 January 2025. The result? Since its launch in July six months ago, The First Descendant has gone from an initial peak of 264,860 players to a current peak on Steam of 9,781. That's a loss of 96.4% of its initial playerbase.
  17. ^ "PvE shooter The First Descendant has lost 96% of its Steam player base in six months - IG News". Instant Gaming News. 14 January 2025.
  18. ^ Lyons, Ben (16 January 2025). "Report: The First Descendant has lost 96% of its active players since launch". Gamereactor UK.
  19. ^ "Gaming News: Why 'The First Descendant' Lost 96% of Its Playerbase in Six Months". www.zleague.gg. 14 January 2025.
[edit]