Path of Exile 2 and Marvel Rivals ignited the gaming world with incredibly successful launch weekends. Let's delve into the impressive numbers.
A Half-Million Strong Player Base
A Phenomenal Launch Weekend
The weekend saw a remarkable double launch, with both titles attracting over 500,000 players on their respective release days. Marvel Rivals, a free-to-play team-based PVP arena shooter, debuted on December 6th. Path of Exile 2, the highly anticipated action RPG, followed in Early Access on December 7th.
Path of Exile 2's Early Access launch on Steam alone peaked at a staggering 578,569 concurrent players. This is particularly impressive given the paid Early Access model. Twitch viewership for the game surpassed 1 million on launch day. The game's popularity even briefly overwhelmed SteamDB, the database tracking Steam statistics, leading to a humorous acknowledgment from the SteamDB team.
Even before launch, pre-orders exceeded 1 million, a figure that rapidly climbed in the hours leading up to release. The unexpected influx of players purchasing Early Access necessitated a last-minute database upgrade to handle the traffic. Despite this, some players experienced login issues and disconnections, highlighting the immense anticipation surrounding the game.
Read Game8's review of Path of Exile 2's Early Access version!