In early 2016, I posted a review of how our player numbers had changed from 2010-2015. Since the same amount of time has now passed, I thought I'd update it.
The methods are the same as reported in the OP, but as a summary:
Players are split into three groups:
New players (have never played before the quarter)
Returning players (have played before, but not in the previous two quarters)
Active players (have played before, and at least once in the previous two quarters)
Focussing on the post-2015 data, we can see a small recovery during 2016 that then dropped off (effectively reverting to the mean) by 2017. Nunbers remained relatively stable during 2017 and 2018, with the exception of a spike in new players caused by the Team event in 2018Q3. A clear decline (particularly in new players) occurred during 2019, in line with the announcment of MTGS being shuttered/the staff exodus to MTGNexus in May 2019. While 2020 has seen a bit of a bounceback, it is clear that our overall playerbase has shrunk to historic lows.
I believe a second reviewer is needed to greenlight Specialties, correct? If so, I'll gladly accept help
I'm also drafting a Mini that, all things considered, should be ready for the review process in a month tops.
The methods are the same as reported in the OP, but as a summary:
Players are split into three groups:
Full data and scripts use to parse and marshal it
Results
Focussing on the post-2015 data, we can see a small recovery during 2016 that then dropped off (effectively reverting to the mean) by 2017. Nunbers remained relatively stable during 2017 and 2018, with the exception of a spike in new players caused by the Team event in 2018Q3. A clear decline (particularly in new players) occurred during 2019, in line with the announcment of MTGS being shuttered/the staff exodus to MTGNexus in May 2019. While 2020 has seen a bit of a bounceback, it is clear that our overall playerbase has shrunk to historic lows.