Palworld, an action-adventure survival game, has made waves in the gaming community since its launch, recently surpassing 15 million sales on Steam. Developers Pocketpair provided an update on Thursday, revealing that the total player base has exceeded 25 million, comprising 15 million on Steam and an additional 10 million on Xbox. Released just one month ago, Palworld has quickly risen to become one of the most popular titles in Steam’s history, despite facing allegations of copying from Pokémon in its design of in-game creatures.
In a post on X, Pocketpair confirmed the milestone, highlighting the impressive figures for both platforms. The game has achieved significant reach, particularly on Xbox, where many players are likely accessing it through the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.
🎉Total number of players exceeds 25 million🎉
It’s been a month since #Palworld was released, thank you!
・Steam: 15 million players
・Xbox: 10 million playersWe will continue to prioritize fixing bugs and preventing further cheating.
Thank you for your continued support! pic.twitter.com/LnVSqJyZsD
— Palworld (@Palworld_EN) February 22, 2024
Last month, Microsoft announced that Palworld had achieved the status of the largest third-party launch on Game Pass, as well as becoming the most-played game on its systems. Pocketpair’s CEO, Takuro Mizobe, expressed his excitement over the extensive player engagement, stating that the initial feedback would be crucial for ongoing enhancements to the game’s experience across all platforms.
Presently, Palworld ranks as the fifth most-played game on Steam, boasting 206,401 concurrent players according to the latest SteamDB statistics, with its all-time peak only trailing behind PUBG: Battlegrounds.
Despite its acclaim, Palworld has not been without controversy. Critics have voiced concerns regarding the creature designs, referred to as Pals, which some claim bear a striking resemblance to those in Pokémon. This has led to scrutiny from players and industry commentators alike.
The Pokémon Company addressed these plagiarism allegations last month, indicating that it would investigate the situation further. A spokesperson confirmed that permission had not been granted for the use of any Pokémon intellectual property in the game, following numerous inquiries regarding the release.
Palworld, which entered early access on January 19, can be played on PC (via Steam), Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X, and is integrated into the Xbox Game Pass service. The game features a vast open world where players can capture and train Pokémon-like creatures for combat, exploration, and construction activities.
