Palworld, the “Pokémon with guns” open-world survival game, has taken gaming by its throat, attracting a staggering 25 million players in its first month of Early Access. While its initial hype may have cooled somewhat, it’s undeniable that Palworld has achieved extraordinary success, exceeding even the highest expectations.
Palworld‘s launch has been nothing short of explosive, selling well over a million copies within 8 hours and quickly reaching 3 million copies sold in 40 hours. Since then, it has achieved several more accolades, including setting a new record for the second-highest peak concurrent player count in Steam history, with with over 2 million players logging on simultaneously. Furthermore, Palworld became the biggest third-party Xbox Game Pass launch ever, with at least 7 million players jumping in.
But what’s perhaps most impressive is Palworld‘s player count, which has surpassed the total sales of Hogwarts Legacy and the combined number of units sold by Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet.
🎉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
As of February 22, Palworld has amassed 25 million players: 15 million on Steam and 10 million on Xbox Game Pass. Despite the drop in concurrent players, it remains one of the most-played games on Steam. More importantly, its Early Access status means there’s potential for even more growth as the game evolves.
For now, Pocketpair is committed to addressing server issues, cheating, and adding new content. Among the studio’s plans is to implement crossplay between Steam and Xbox, potentially boosting Xbox player numbers. But that’s not all. If the words of a longtime Sony executive are to go by, a PlayStation port is on the table. If that happens, we can expect the player count of Palworld to possibly even double.
While it’s impossible to predict the future, Palworld’s journey from meme to massive hit is undeniably impressive, and its future remains intriguing.
