The initial figures pointed to Aliens: Colonial Marines being at least a financial success, but the recent onslaught of generally horrifying news stories–not to mention the almost universally negative reviews–were bound to take their toll eventually.

Sure enough, as a recent Steam Graph reveals, A:CM’s popularity has not just waned on PC, but it’s actually lost around 3,200 players–from approximately 5,000 down to about 1,800–in just seven days. That’s almost a 65% drop.

In a market that is so comfortable with relying on preexisting characters and licenses to sell, it’s nice to see that gamers can still recognize quality (or lack thereof), despite of their love of the universe from which it’s gleaning.

Regardless of who’s to blame for the game’s development, such a dramatic drop-off can’t simply be the result of bad press. It should be interesting to see how the promised DLC fares down the line.

[Source: Hold the Line via Gaming Blend]