This is the most likely culprit. Given the length of early access and the ongoing structural economy changes, there is virtually no “content” released since launch other than Events. Many players who play regularly quickly exceed the available content so it’s not all that surprising that attrition is the biggest issue.
I know in Throne of Odin we have tried to make things as entertaining and rewarding as possible along the way (much of which we’ve documented in other posts). But the reality is most longer-term players have little need to continue playing. PvE Strategy is still mono-color/barrier/stun oriented; PvP is Turn0 gear-oriented. Once you have those build outs, there is little else to strive for.
Hopefully the economy adjustments are about done and perhaps more content and QoL will start to be present in the updates. That will go a long way towards reinvigorating existing players.
Gems of War has the advantage of being a long-running “collection” game which incentivizes continued play. There is little strategy at this point in the game (equip overpowered World Event medals, use Tesla/Queen Bee, fast farm with Ironhawk or Phoenicia, etc.) beyond a small bit in Guild Wars. People continue to play to get the next troop, the next kingdom advancement, etc. PQ3 has a long way to go before it starts hitting those marks.
P.S. (EDIT - added after) - it also doesn’t help that the CX experience here has been a massive failure. Mostly this is the developers’ fault due to the length of early access but plenty of developers have made that a strength by really engaging with the early access player base and keeping them both informed and involved. That hasn’t happened here and the strain of it is really showing.
This was almost 3 months ago:
Beyond the actual release of 0.39 which was primarily an overhaul of a couple of economy/activity mechanics, that’s all we know. It’s hard to look forward to something when there is nothing to look forward to.