Path of Exile 2 and Marvel Rivals ignited the gaming world with hugely successful weekend launches. Let's delve into these remarkable achievements.
A Half-Million Strong Player Base
A Weekend of Record-Breaking Launches
The weekend saw two major game releases achieve phenomenal success, each attracting over 500,000 players on launch day. Marvel Rivals, a free-to-play team-based PVP arena shooter, debuted on December 6th, followed by Path of Exile 2's Early Access launch on December 7th.
Path of Exile 2, specifically, boasted a remarkable player count, reaching a peak of 578,569 concurrent players on Steam alone. This is particularly impressive given its paid Early Access status. Twitch viewership for the game also soared, exceeding 1 million viewers on launch day. The game's popularity even temporarily overwhelmed SteamDB, the database tracking Steam statistics, leading to a humorous acknowledgment from SteamDB itself.
Even before its official launch, Path of Exile 2 had already surpassed 1 million pre-orders, a number that continued to climb rapidly in the hours leading up to release. This unprecedented surge in Early Access purchases forced the development team to implement a last-minute database upgrade to manage the influx of players. Despite these server expansions, players experienced some initial connectivity issues and login queues, a testament to the game's highly anticipated arrival.
Read Game8's review of Path of Exile 2's Early Access version!
