Summary
Just days after its early access release, Pocket Pair’sPalworldhas set another momentous milestone by surpassingElden Ring’s andCyberpunk 2077’s concurrent player count on Steam. While the title was not one of2024’s anticipated gamesfor some, it has surprisingly become a worldwide hit, quickly topping the charts.
While the game is available on Xbox Game Pass,Palworldhas also become an instant hit on Steam and has sold over 4 million copies over the span of three days, according to Pocket Pair on Twitter. The title, nicknamed “Pokemonwith guns” by gamers, has captivated players by combining the monster-catching and survival genres so that its fans cancatch a variety of helpful Palswhile collecting materials to improve and strengthen their base.
This satisfying gameplay loop is one of the reasons thatPalworldnow has one of the highest concurrent player counts, having passedElden RingandCyberpunk 2077.According to Steam DB,Palworldhas reached 1,291,967 total players over the weekend, surpassingCyberpunk 2077’s 1,054,388 andElden Ring’s 953,426. The game has also passedBaldur’s Gate 3, one of last year’s most popular titles, andHogwarts Legacy, 2023’s best-selling game, in just one day.
While Pocket Pair has announced on Twitter thatPalworldhas the “highest concurrent player count of any paid game in the history of Steam,” it should be noted that the title belongs toPUBG, having reached an all-time peak of 3,257,248 players back in 2018 when it was a paid game. This is almost three times more than the amount of players currently playingPalworld.
Regardless, this milestone is quite the achievement that Pocket Pair has pulled off. Taking into consideration thatPalworldwas just released three days ago and is still in early access, the studio has pulled off a momentous feat in just a short amount of time. The game has provednto be so popular thatPalworldhad server issues on launch daydue to the high volume of people trying to play the game.
However, not everyone is a fan of the game. In particular,Pokemonfans have been criticizingPalworldfor the number of designs that were seemingly ripped from the Nintendo franchise. Even before the game’s release, the similarity between Pals and Pokemon was evident when looking at the designs of Lamball and Wooloo as well as Cattiva and Zorua. However, others have argued that this may be the push that Nintendo and Game Freak need to take thePokemonfranchise to the next level. After all, with the numbers thatPalworldhas achieved in just a few days, it is likely that Nintendo is keeping an eye on the title.
Palworld
WHERE TO PLAY
In this game, you can peacefully live alongside mysterious creatures known as Pals or risk your life to drive off a ruthless poaching syndicate. Pals can be used to fight and breed, or they can be made to work on farms or factories. You can even sell them or eat them.Survival: In a harsh environment where food is scarce and vicious poachers roam, danger waits around every corner. To survive, you must tread carefully and make difficult choices…even if that means eating your own Pals when the time comes.Mounts & Exploration: Pals can be mounted to traverse the land, sea and sky—allowing you to traverse all kinds of environment as you explore the world.Collect all kinds of exciting Pals to fight, farm, build, and work for you in this completely new multiplayer, open world survival and crafting game!
