Palworld was released on January 19, and within three days of launch, it had sold more than four million copies. This game, which was revealed in 2021, was believed to be a ‘joke project’ by many, but it has taken the world by storm now that it has been released. On the surface, it looks like a Pokémon clone, but thanks to its bizarre mechanics and violent features, it’s easy to separate it from Nintendo’s epic monster-catching series.
There are no signs of Palworld slowing down any time soon, as millions upon millions of players are finding their way into the game’s inane ecosystem. It’s available on Game Pass, but it’s on Steam where the game is seeing a monumental boom. This weekend, Palworld has shattered records, challenging Counter-Strike’s all-time high peak player count and soaring to the top of the charts. It has become the second most-played paid game on Steam in history.
Palworld is Running Riot
Palworld is one of the strangest games to make it big in such a short time. It’s an open-world survival game that has been created by Pocket Pair to seemingly combat the likes of Pokémon. In Palworld, players assume control of their character to hunt and capture ‘Pals’, which are effectively Pokémon by appearance. They can then use these Pals to battle, build bases, advance to new areas, or fight enemies they encounter in the world.
That sounds like Pokémon, right?
There’s one fairly huge twist – you can find weapons and hand them to your Pals, and these weapons include assault rifles, mounted machine guns, and explosives. As a monster hunter of sorts, you will tasked with using said weaponry to fight enormous beasts. There are even mechanics that allow you to put your Pals to work in slave camps and mines. It’s really weird, but it’s proving to be an incredible success in the gaming community.
Call it meme value, call it shock value – everyone wants a piece of Palworld. It might be a flash in the pan, but it’s enough to keep the millions of sales rolling in for Pocket Pair.
Climbing the Ranks
It’s not possible to get the game data for those playing through Game Pass on Xbox or PC, but it’s expected that millions of players are using the services to catch and hunt Pals and do battle with them. On Steam, Palworld has surpassed Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, New World, and Hogwarts Legacy when it comes to peak player counts. It has come within a hair of beating Dota 2’s record, too.
There isn’t one game that has been released in the last few years that has generated this much hype or energy in this time frame, bar none. It has skyrocketed in value and popularity, and it’s taking over streaming and content platforms too, pushing to a concurrent peak viewer count of 430,000 on Twitch. It’s mind-blowing that this game, which is so bizarre by nature, has managed to see so much success in such a short time.
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