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 Phenomenal Launch
The weekend saw a combined 1 million players across both titles. Marvel Rivals, a free-to-play team-based PVP arena shooter, launched on December 6th, attracting 500,000 players on its first day. Path of Exile 2, an action RPG, followed on December 7th, launching in Early Access to a similarly impressive 500,000 players.
Path of Exile 2's Steam launch was particularly noteworthy, peaking at 578,569 concurrent players. This is a remarkable achievement for a paid Early Access title. Twitch viewership for the game also soared, exceeding 1 million on launch day. The game's popularity even temporarily overwhelmed SteamDB, the database tracking Steam statistics, leading to a humorous public acknowledgment from SteamDB itself.
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 the game's release. This unexpected surge of players purchasing Early Access necessitated a last-minute database upgrade to handle the influx. Despite this proactive measure, some players experienced login issues and disconnections due to server strain, highlighting the immense anticipation surrounding the game's release.
Read Game8's review of Path of Exile 2's Early Access version!
