actually, if you look at Starcraft 2, most people don't even touch the MP ladder and prefer play co op or custom maps. Dawn of war 3's biggest problem is that it has started with 1 game mode and nothing like the last stand system. Relic needs to get out more game modes faster.

having 5k people play the game largely for MP is pretty good for an RTS at this time.

Co-op, custom maps and mods are in fact similar to multiplayer - they create a stable playerbase. In every statement in my last post you can change the word "multiplayer" into "custom maps" and it will be still valid. The problem is not enough stable playerbase after 3 weeks from release.Of course 5k is a good amount for RTS. It would be amazing amount of players for B class RTS. It is also a great amount of players for over 3 years old game such as CoH2. But it is definitely not a good score for 1st or 2nd most awaited RTS in 2017. This is not a good score for any AAA game just after release.And here we come to the most sensible conclusion - the DoW3 is a game advertised as AAA, but in fact doesn't live up to this standard. That exactly explains the player drop down and it can be seen on every corner in the game, game streams or reviews.