I honestly don't think it is just the first 5 months. It gets worse as the game goes too. I have seen player after player leave the game leaving huge holes in worlds. Its a daily occurrence, people just can't handle the chore the game becomes most times. I gave up on this game for 6 months at one point and I came back again. Its a hard game to quit permanently, but some do. Lots return for a future run at it but they start small and can handle it.
Overall the game for me is just as consuming early as it is late game, just different aspects keep you busy. The first year its lots of diplomacy establishing dominant tribes and growing in your area. After that its wars tribes falling apart and keeping your troops built and nobling constantly. It becomes just as tedious to keep villages building and sending trains daily. All the scripts make this easier and I couldn't imagine doing it without premium, yet some do without, probably part of the reason they quit is because of the time without scripts.
There are many reasons why people quit, real life( new job, moving, school etc.), the game takes too long for them, they get bored, they start losing wars, the list goes on and on. Well thats my opinion at least.
