‘Palworld’ Just Passed ‘Dota 2’ As Steam’s Third Biggest Game Ever - How? Why? - Forbes

I’m not sure I’ve seen a game explode this widely and this quickly since well, Pokémon GO. And it’s certainly more than a little ironic that it’s a Pokémon-type game doing it. That would be Palworld, Pocket Pair’s not-just-a-meme-anymore megahit that has now become Steam’s third most concurrently played game in the history of the service.

Palworld has just passed Lost Ark and Dota 2 to take that spot, having released on January 19, just three days ago. Here is the top 10 list for concurrents on Steam so you can get better context for just how absolutely unprecedented this is:

1. PUBG – 3.25 million
2. CSGO/CS2 – 1.81 million
3. Palworld – 1.501 million (and climbing)
4. Lost Ark – 1.33 million
5. Dota 2 – 1.30 million
6. Cyberpunk 2077 – 1.05 million
7. Elden Ring – 953,000
8. New World – 913,000
9. Hogwarts Legacy – 879,000
10. Baldur’s Gate 3 – 875,000

It appeared the game may have peaked yesterday just under Dota 2, but now on Monday morning, it has rocketed past that old figure, likely due to the fact it’s nighttime in Japan when loads of people are playing over there (like Nintendo and Game Freak, Pocket Pair is a Japanese developer). Previously I would have said CS2’s 1.81 figure was absolutely out of reach, but I am quickly learning to avoid any predictions for what this game can accomplish. (Palworld went up another 40,000 concurrents from when I started this article to when I finished)

Palworld

Steamdb

What…is going on here? How did this game, marketed as a violent Pokémon knock-off, achieve this? While there is some level of controversy regarding accusations of Palworld ripping of Pokémon designs, or that it’s used genAI for its content (there is no evidence of this), the larger picture is that this is just a very fun, accessible game, and one that perhaps people have been looking for from the actual Pokémon series for a decade now.

While the monster and monster-catching aspects are certain echoing Pokémon, the game has in fact combined many, many different elements of hugely popular games from the likes of Breath of the Wild, Fortnite, Valheim and others.

It is easy to imagine that “combining a bunch of unrelated popular games” would be a recipe for mish-mashed trash soup, but instead it’s…an incredibly accessible, addicting, enjoyable, often very funny game that allows for immediate onboarding and the perfect conditions for a mega-viral spread.

Pocket Pair

Pocket Pair

There are two main elements to the game. One is building a home base and getting a fleet of Pal workers to manage production of supplies and gear. Then, the half is exploring a wide world full of (admittedly pretty basic) bosses and dungeons as you aim to Catch ‘em All. Sorry, “Collect All of Them” (Nintendo-approved wording). It’s also multiplayer, as multiple Pal trainers can build bases within the same world to team up or go to war. And while it’s not the prettiest game in the world, simply being in Unreal 5 makes it look and perform miles better than the last few Game Freak Pokémon games on Nintendo Switch, which many have taken note of.

Given that we are just three days into Palworld, there’s no telling what it’s longevity will be. It does seem likely players will probably run out of things to do in the current form of the game, and Pocket Pair had such a small team make this that huge content updates for it are a tall order. But I also have no idea where this is going to peak given how it’s spreading throughout the industry. And despite the comparisons, it does not seem especially plausible that Nintendo has the evidence to swoop in and shut this down somehow. And so, the rocket continues to rise.

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2024-01-22 13:20:30Z
CBMid2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZvcmJlcy5jb20vc2l0ZXMvcGF1bHRhc3NpLzIwMjQvMDEvMjIvcGFsd29ybGQtanVzdC1wYXNzZWQtZG90YS0yLWFzLXN0ZWFtcy10aGlyZC1iaWdnZXN0LWdhbWUtZXZlcmhvdy13aHkv0gF7aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZm9yYmVzLmNvbS9zaXRlcy9wYXVsdGFzc2kvMjAyNC8wMS8yMi9wYWx3b3JsZC1qdXN0LXBhc3NlZC1kb3RhLTItYXMtc3RlYW1zLXRoaXJkLWJpZ2dlc3QtZ2FtZS1ldmVyaG93LXdoeS9hbXAv

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