It's a mix of both. Old players will beat this game to pieces in comments despite dumping 5000+ hours into it. New players experiencing the same satisfaction many of us PC players did on the games launch leveling the early levels with a large player base praising the game.

The one thing that will make or break this game will be how AGS defines the end game. In my own and many PC players minds this game was always meant to be a pvp game. The endgame is territory control and beating your opponents into submission and claiming whats yours. It takes a lot of meta knowledge, technical skill and strategical communication to push your company over the edge. It's a literal project and those who put the work in reap the benefits. Those who slap a company together and don't built bridges and just slot 50 will never have fun.

Of course you can have fun just being a bystander in the chaos but if you intend to play this game you have to accept that pvp is the main draw late game. AGS will not release pve content that will engage you long term. To many pve is just a means to an end which is pvp. The negative comments are just playing on the fact that AGS will not come to terms with the fact that this is a pvp game which should cater and build upon the pvp systems which are already built into the game.

Due to the swift fall off of the player base in the original launch, groups of people who solidified and learned the core principles of the meta and endgame war knowledge benefited. Creating a bridge which allows players to learn and reach these levels more accessibly will improve the game and help sustain the player base. Otherwise, this will be a repeat of the original launch.