Palworld, an open-world action-adventure game featuring combat and creature capture reminiscent of Pokémon, has quickly gained popularity, soaring to the top of the Steam charts just days after its launch. The title, which also integrates survival elements, has achieved the fifth-highest peak concurrent player count in the history of the Valve platform, surpassing major contenders such as Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and Hogwarts Legacy. Developers Pocketpair announced on Monday that the game sold over five million copies within the first three days post-launch.
Released on January 19, Palworld has garnered the moniker “Pokémon with guns” and is rapidly becoming one of the most engaging titles on Steam. According to data from SteamDB, which compiles player statistics, Palworld has reached an impressive peak of 1,291,967 concurrent players, ranking it as the fifth most played game on the service. It trails only behind heavyweight titles such as PUBG: Battlegrounds, Counter-Strike 2, Lost Ark, and DOTA 2.
This remarkable success has propelled Palworld ahead of previously top-selling games including Cyberpunk 2077, which peaked at 1,054,388 concurrent players, and Elden Ring with a count of 953,426. Hogwarts Legacy, which achieved over 22 million sales in 2023, has a peak of 879,308 concurrent players.
Current player numbers are equally impressive. Palworld leads the charts with 895,847 players actively engaged at the time of reporting, with CS 2, DOTA 2, and PUBG: Battlegrounds following in the second, third, and fourth positions respectively. Furthermore, the game also leads in the highest peak concurrent player statistics over the last 24 hours.
Pocketpair confirmed via a post on X that Palworld reached sales of five million copies within just three days, with the milestone of four million occurring by Sunday. The developers noted that the game is flying off the shelves at an astonishing rate of 86,000 units sold per hour. However, the studio has reported an overwhelming influx of support requests, with over 50,000 inquiries made by players experiencing issues such as server outages, bugs, and other significant problems. The team has acknowledged these serious bugs, including difficulties in accessing servers, multiplayer issues, and lost saved data, and is actively working on addressing them. “We will share information about the fixes for these issues as soon as possible,” they stated on X.
Palworld is available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X, allowing players to capture, utilize, and battle cute creatures known as Pals while surviving in a vast open-world multiplayer environment. The game has been favorably received on Steam, holding a “Very Positive” rating from 39,554 reviews. Currently, Palworld can be accessed in Early Access for ₹1,300, featuring a promotional discount of 10 percent available until January 25.
