Path of Exile 2 and Marvel Rivals ignited the gaming world with incredibly successful launch weekends. Let's delve into the impressive numbers.
A Massive Player Base
A Weekend of Record-Breaking Launches
The weekend saw the triumphant debuts of two highly anticipated titles: Marvel Rivals and Path of Exile 2. Both games attracted a staggering 500,000 players each on their respective launch days.
Path of Exile 2, launching in Early Access on December 7th, immediately captivated players, reaching a peak of 578,569 concurrent players on Steam alone. This is a remarkable achievement, especially considering the paid Early Access model. Twitch viewership for the game also soared, exceeding 1 million on launch day. The game's immense popularity even briefly overwhelmed SteamDB, the popular database site, leading to a humorous public acknowledgment from the SteamDB team.
Prior to launch, Path of Exile 2 had already surpassed 1 million pre-orders, a number that rapidly increased in the hours leading up to release. This unprecedented demand forced the development team to implement a last-minute database upgrade to handle the influx of players. Despite this expansion, some players still experienced login issues and disconnections, highlighting the game's highly anticipated nature and the sheer volume of players attempting to join.
Read Game8's review of Path of Exile 2's Early Access version!
