Marketing reasons 100% this is apart of crowd control psychology aka manipulation
-The Bandwagon Effect and Social Proof
* Perceived Popularity
* Preventing the “Dead Game” Narrative
-Reducing “Analysis Paralysis”
* The Paradox of Choice
* Focus on Experience, Not Stats
-Mitigating Social Anxiety and Toxicity
* Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) vs. Being Left Behind
* Combating Harassment
-Shifting Metrics for Success
* Quality over Quantity
* Protecting Long-Term Investment
-Obscuring “Dead” Lobbies
* Avoiding Negative Reinforcement
In summary, hiding player counts is a, preventive psychological tool to manage user perception, protect the game’s reputation from the stigma of low player counts, and keep the focus on the gameplay experience rather than the social pressure of popularity.
This are the steps and there are more methods that video game use to play with your brain from making u pay more buy micro transaction DLC etc…
Even the posters u see on the street with Adds use psychology to manipulate you to buy or to take your attention to make u read it to memorize them (a simple way is roll the same add 30 times /day in one week u will sing my ad song and u will know my product)
If u are interest on how to manipulate humans ( sorry not manipulate “sell your product”) here is a list of books that will teach u how to
The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind
by Gustave Le Bon
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
by Charles Mackay
The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements
by Eric Hoffer
Propaganda
by Edward Bernays
If u read them u will see the world how it really is
Enjoy
