Summary

  • Palworld has reached an impressive milestone with over two million concurrent players on Steam, thanks to its unique formula and viral success.
  • The game's popularity is global, with a huge fan base in both Asia and North America, leading to player counts rarely seen on Steam.
  • Palworld has faced criticism regarding similarities to Pokemon, but some industry figures have defended the game, emphasizing its uniqueness and inspiration from other titles like Ark and Rust.

Palworld has reached another impressive milestone, passing two million concurrent players on Steam. Palworld's unique formula has seen it skyrocket up the charts after the game's recent release.

Palworld, or "Pokemon with guns," instantly became a viral sensation after its debut on January 18. The Japanese-made game quickly built a massive fan base around the globe and doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Palworld recently revealed its plans for the future, which include new islands, more bosses, new Pals, PvP, and more. There is not a timeline yet for when players can expect these additions, but it's likely that PocketPair is hard at work on ensuring Palworld retains as much of its massive player base as possible. As Palworld's popularity continues to soar, it recently reached an impressive milestone on a major platform.

Chikipi Sauté and The Anubis statue in Palworld
6 Ways To Get More Powerful In Palworld

Here are the most effective ways to become more powerful in Pocket Pair's immensely popular early-access game, Palworld.

By 

On January 24, Palworld reached a peak player count of over two million players on Steam. Its player count has steadily risen since its initial release, so Palworld's current peak will likely be surpassed again. Palworld's player-count peaks have occurred in the United States' morning hours, which are peak gaming hours in Asia where the game has found a massive following. The game's huge popularity in both Asia and North America created player counts that are rarely seen on Steam. Palworld was also released on Xbox Game Pass, which does not provide player numbers like Steam does, so its overall player count is likely significantly higher. However, Palworld still has a lot of distance to cover before it breaks PUBG's all-time Steam record of 3.2 million concurrent players.

Steam Games with the Highest All-Time Concurrent Player Counts

palworld-passes-yet-another-ridiculous-sales-milestone
  1. PUBG- 3.2 million
  2. Palworld- 2 million
  3. CS:GO- 1.8 million
  4. Lost Ark- 1.3 million
  5. Dota 2- 1.2 million
  6. Cyberpunk 2077- 1 million
  7. Elden Ring- 953,000
  8. New World- 913,000
  9. Hogwarts Legacy- 879,000
  10. Baldur's Gate 3- 875,000

Thanks to its impressive player count, Palworld also hit a huge sales milestone recently, selling over seven million copies in five days. PocketPair clearly struck gold with the game's unique combination of Pal catching, base building, and survival mechanics. However, Palworld's brief history hasn't all been positive.

Some Pokemon fans were quick to point out the similarities between some of Palworld's creatures and various Pokemon. Many wondered whether The Pokemon Company would pursue legal action over what some claim is plagiarism, especially after the company's former chief legal officer called Palworld "ripoff nonsense," and even expressed his surprise at Palworld getting this far along.

However, other industry figures were quick to defend Palworld. A senior Dishonored developer explained why Palworld is so much more than a Pokemon ripoff, detailing that its uniqueness outweighs any similarities to such franchises. He explained that, if anything, Palworld takes more inspiration from games like Ark and Rust than it does from Pokemon.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
Palworld Tag Page Cover Art

Palworld
Display card tags widget
Open-World
Shooter
Survival
Display card system widget
Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
Display card community and brand rating widget Display card open critics widget
Top Critic Avg: 71 /100 Critics Rec: 58%
Display card main info widget
Released
January 19, 2024
ESRB
T For Teen Due To Violence
Developer(s)
Pocket Pair, Inc.
Publisher(s)
Pocket Pair, Inc.
Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Cross-Platform Play
Xbox Series X|S, pc
Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

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!

Genre(s)
Open-World, Shooter, Survival