Palworld manages the biggest launch in Steam history, passing Hogwarts Legacy, Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and more

(Image credit: Pocketpair)

Palworld is already a giant hit, but that may be underselling just how massive this Pokemon-meets-survival game has become just days after launch. Measured by concurrent player count, it's become the third-biggest game in Steam history, and achieved the biggest launch the platform has ever seen.

As of this writing, Palworld has reached a peak concurrent player count of 1,582,482 on Steam (as shown by SteamDB), just three days after launch. That massive number doesn't even include any Xbox, Microsoft Store, or Game Pass players. This gives Palworld the third-highest concurrent player peak in the history of Steam, just behind CS:GO/Counter-Strike 2 (1,818,773) and PUBG: Battlegrounds (3,257,248).

But it took years for Counter-Strike and months for PUBG to reach their respective peaks, where Palworld has managed its ridiculous player count in just a few days. That number puts it beyond the opening week Steam player peaks of games like Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and Hogwarts Legacy. It's already more than tripled the player peak of Valheim, the next-biggest survival game on the platform. For comparison's sake, here are the top 15 player peak records on Steam.

3,257,248 - PUBG
1,818,773 - CS:GO/Counter-Strike 2
1,582,482 - Palworld
1,325,305 - Lost Ark
1,295,114 - Dota 2
1,054,388 - Cyberpunk 2077
953,426 - Elden Ring
913,634 - New World
879,308 - Hogwarts Legacy
875,343 - Baldur's Gate 3
702,845 - Goose Goose Duck
624,473 - Apex Legends
502,387 - Valheim
491,670 - Call of Duty (includes MW2, MW3, and Warzone)
489,886 - Terraria

You might notice a few games in that list like Lost Ark and New World, which launched with massive hype and interest but which pretty quickly faded from the collective memories of most of the gaming world. Only time will tell if Palworld will end up being more than a flash in the pan, but it's managed to make a little history regardless.

Across Xbox and PC, Palworld has sold over 5 million copies, as the devs have confirmed on Twitter, and that doesn't even account for any Game Pass players. But it's been a controversial success, with some harsh criticism pointed at just how similar many of its creature designs are to that of actual Pokemon. Palworld's boss has shot down some of those concerns, saying "We have absolutely no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies."

If you're just getting started, check out our guides to find out how to get guns in Palworld or how to play Palworld multiplayer with friends.

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.