Path of Exile 2 and Marvel Rivals ignited the gaming world with spectacularly successful weekend launches. Discover the details of these remarkable achievements!
A Massive 500k Player Base
A Weekend of Gaming Triumphs
The weekend witnessed the triumphant launches of two highly anticipated games, each attracting an impressive 500,000 players on their respective launch days. Marvel Rivals, a free-to-play team-based PVP arena shooter, debuted on December 6th, followed by Path of Exile 2's Early Access release on December 7th.
Path of Exile 2's Early Access launch on Steam alone saw a peak of 578,569 concurrent players—a remarkable achievement for a paid Early Access title. Twitch viewership for the game exceeded 1 million on launch day. The game's immense popularity even temporarily overwhelmed the SteamDB database, resulting in 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 server opening. The unexpected influx of players purchasing Early Access prompted a last-minute database upgrade by the development team to manage the massive traffic. Despite this expansion, players experienced temporary disconnections, login issues, and lengthy queues, highlighting the game's highly anticipated nature.
Read Game8's review of Path of Exile 2's Early Access build!