Organic reach and creators alone are insufficient if the objective is meaningful population growth.
The relaunch requires a substantial paid-media program.
Creative should be segmented around different reasons to care rather than forcing every audience through one master proposition.
Potential executions could emphasize:
Avatar Development
One avatar. Decades of progression.
Professions
Hunt. Mine. Craft. Trade. Explore. Specialize.
The Economy
Play in an MMORPG where the economy is real.
The Worlds
One avatar. Multiple worlds.
Space
Leave the planet. The universe doesn’t stop at the sky.
Persistence
More than 20 years of player history.
Ownership and Aspiration
Own a shop. An estate. A spacecraft. Even an entire land area.
Unreal
After more than two decades, the universe has been rebuilt.
Different propositions should be tested against different audiences, with retargeting used to move people from short-form curiosity into longer-form explanations and ultimately account creation/Steam conversion.
Optimization should eventually move beyond cheap clicks and installs toward retained players and meaningful in-game participation.