The Game Census
Rivals of Aether cover art

Rivals of Aether

Aether Studios · 2017-03-28

SteamMicrosoft Store

Indie

Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative

Releases: Mar 28, 2017 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Sep 24, 2020 (Nintendo Switch), Mar 28, 2017 (Xbox One)

RIVALS OF AETHER is an indie fighting game where warring civilizations summon the power of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. Play with up to four players either locally or online.

476
playing now
96%
positive of 38k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
steam rating
1,000,000–2,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
1
twitch viewers (latest)
73/100
IGDB user rating (41 ratings)
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$29.99
steam price (US)

476 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 01:00 UTC (census sample)

Rivals of Aether is a platform fighter game created by Dan Fornace, and released for Microsoft Windows in March 2017, for Xbox One in August 2017, and for Nintendo Switch in September 2020. It received positive reception from critics, who commended its deep gameplay.

Health check

Healthy
  • · 476 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 1,395 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~174/week).
  • · Review velocity down 3% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 2% of 17,990 Indie games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-28

Estimated sales: 953k–2.3M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 38,133 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

Microsoft Store$14.99
lowest across shops (ITAD)$29.99

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $3.74 at Steam (2018-12-20) · bundled 5×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $29.99 · on sale 9 of 17 observed days · $11.25 above the all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
89489420182026Week of 2018-01-01: 88 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 58 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 49 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 184 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 37 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 56 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 68 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 71 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 67 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 102 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 54 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 138 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 63 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 61 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 128 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 203 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 74 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 163 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 677 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 583 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 559 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 711 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 509 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 668 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 478 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 725 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 894 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 451 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 634 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 837 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 554 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 576 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 609 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 411 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 404 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 415 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 282 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 397 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 364 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 244 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 374 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 474 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 560 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 584 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 530 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 612 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 41 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 319 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 353 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 320 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 333 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 371 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 307 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 272 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 325 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 309 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 335 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 359 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 345 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 340 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 411 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 326 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 347 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 551 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 344 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 341 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 263 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 367 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 636 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 409 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 265 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 339 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 241 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 233 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 324 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 441 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 263 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 169 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 260 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 262 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 370 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 301 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 161 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 192 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 172 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 166 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 170 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 260 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 186 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 138 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 147 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 142 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 228 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 213 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 166 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 137 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 124 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 154 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 143 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 175 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 159 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 7 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

534962026-08-06 21:00 — 401 players2026-08-07 05:00 — 326 players2026-08-07 13:00 — 190 players2026-08-07 21:00 — 447 players2026-08-08 05:00 — 364 players2026-08-08 13:00 — 197 players2026-08-08 21:00 — 485 players2026-08-09 05:00 — 338 players2026-08-09 13:00 — 221 players2026-08-09 21:00 — 471 players2026-08-10 05:00 — 301 players2026-08-10 13:00 — 221 players2026-08-10 21:00 — 444 players2026-08-11 05:00 — 247 players2026-08-11 13:00 — 198 players2026-08-12 21:00 — 395 players2026-08-14 05:00 — 285 players2026-08-15 12:00 — 169 players2026-08-16 20:00 — 518 players2026-08-18 04:00 — 385 players2026-08-19 11:00 — 129 players2026-08-20 19:00 — 294 players2026-08-22 02:00 — 417 players2026-08-23 10:00 — 134 players2026-08-24 18:00 — 233 players2026-08-26 02:00 — 339 players2026-08-27 10:00 — 121 players2026-08-28 17:00 — 266 players2026-08-30 01:00 — 476 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$29.99$3.742015-09-222026-08-282015-09-22 — best price $14.992016-03-14 — best price $11.992016-06-23 — best price $9.892016-10-29 — best price $9.742016-12-22 — best price $8.992017-06-22 — best price $7.492017-09-25 — best price $5.092017-12-21 — best price $7.492018-06-21 — best price $4.492018-09-11 — best price $7.492018-12-20 — best price $3.742019-06-26 — best price $7.492019-09-19 — best price $7.492019-11-26 — best price $7.492020-01-23 — best price $7.492020-04-09 — best price $7.492020-06-25 — best price $7.492020-11-02 — best price $29.992020-11-25 — best price $16.492021-02-11 — best price $14.992021-06-03 — best price $14.992021-09-20 — best price $14.992021-11-24 — best price $14.992022-01-27 — best price $14.992022-04-05 — best price $29.992022-07-07 — best price $29.992023-01-05 — best price $29.992023-03-23 — best price $29.992023-07-13 — best price $29.992023-11-28 — best price $29.992024-01-04 — best price $29.992024-07-11 — best price $29.992024-11-06 — best price $29.992025-01-02 — best price $29.992025-04-08 — best price $29.992025-10-06 — best price $29.992026-01-05 — best price $29.992026-03-26 — best price $29.992026-07-09 — best price $29.992026-08-28 — best price $14.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

509502026-05-31 — 98 pageviews2026-06-03 — 100 pageviews2026-06-06 — 98 pageviews2026-06-09 — 64 pageviews2026-06-12 — 100 pageviews2026-06-15 — 71 pageviews2026-06-18 — 103 pageviews2026-06-21 — 63 pageviews2026-06-24 — 95 pageviews2026-06-27 — 159 pageviews2026-06-30 — 121 pageviews2026-07-03 — 103 pageviews2026-07-06 — 111 pageviews2026-07-09 — 96 pageviews2026-07-12 — 76 pageviews2026-07-15 — 93 pageviews2026-07-18 — 63 pageviews2026-07-21 — 75 pageviews2026-07-24 — 80 pageviews2026-07-27 — 110 pageviews2026-07-30 — 62 pageviews2026-08-02 — 67 pageviews2026-08-05 — 102 pageviews2026-08-08 — 104 pageviews2026-08-11 — 64 pageviews2026-08-14 — 66 pageviews2026-08-17 — 90 pageviews2026-08-20 — 77 pageviews2026-08-23 — 72 pageviews2026-08-26 — 63 pageviews2026-08-28 — 72 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Twitch viewers

1612026-08-28 22:34 — 16 viewers2026-08-28 23:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-29 00:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-29 01:34 — 5 viewers2026-08-29 02:34 — 2 viewers2026-08-29 03:34 — 2 viewers2026-08-29 04:34 — 2 viewers2026-08-29 05:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-29 06:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-29 07:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-29 08:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-30 01:34 — 13 viewers2026-08-30 02:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-30 03:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-30 04:34 — 2 viewers2026-08-30 05:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-30 06:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-30 07:34 — 2 viewers2026-08-30 08:34 — 2 viewers2026-08-30 09:34 — 3 viewers2026-08-30 10:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-30 11:34 — 2 viewers2026-08-30 12:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-30 13:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-30 14:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-30 15:34 — 1 viewers2026-08-30 16:35 — 1 viewers
Hourly Twitch viewers (census snapshots).

Completion

36
achievements tracked
48.5%
earned "Endless Creativity"
7.3%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsFull controller supportSingle-playerMulti-playerPvPOnline PvPShared/Split Screen PvPCo-opShared/Split Screen Co-opShared/Split ScreenSteam AchievementsFull controller support21 DLC

2 supported languages: English, Japanese

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)18,2001%36
Xbox One (Xbox)5,8670%25
Switch (Nintendo)1480%0

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

2DIndieActionFightingModdable2D FighterControllerPlatformerCompetitiveMultiplayer

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

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Similarity via IGDB.

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