Astaria

VS

The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War

Astaria is an indie RPG with some action and adventure elements, released in 2020. It is developed and published by a small independent team (PlayAstaria), with a self-hosted website and limited social media presence, except for an active reddit that uses 'astariammo'—suggesting MMO elements but on a small scale. Such indie MMOs typically see very modest daily populations a few years after launch unless strongly promoted or widely adopted. Based on these factors, I estimate around 200 daily players.

The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War is a licensed mobile RTS/strategy game by NetEase, released in late 2021. While initial launch interest was strong thanks to the IP and solid marketing, typical player retention for mobile strategy games stabilizes at a lower active base over time. NetEase titles perform well in Asian and international markets but generally see gradual decline after 2-3 years. As a mobile-focused, session-based game (not a full persistent MMO), it likely maintains around 70,000 daily active players globally by mid-2024.