Palworld has once again captured the attention of Steam players, nearing one million concurrent users over the weekend. This resurgence marks the second consecutive weekend the game has challenged for the top spot on the platform, placing it above established titles like Dota 2.
The survival-crafting game, developed by Pocketpair, officially launched its 1.0 version on PC and consoles on July 10th. While it has not yet surpassed its all-time peak of 2.1 million concurrent players from early 2024, its sustained popularity is notable.
Historically, only a handful of games have achieved over two million concurrent players on Steam, including PUBG, Black Myth: Wukong, and Palworld itself. Furthermore, only five other titles have ever crossed the one million concurrent player threshold: Counter-Strike 2, Monster Hunter: Wilds, Lost Ark, Dota 2, and Cyberpunk 2077. Palworld's ability to compete with these giants is especially significant considering that many of them, such as Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2, are free-to-play, excluding any premium expansions or battle passes.
Palworld first entered early access in January 2024 and garnered significant attention, partly due to comparisons with Nintendo's Pokémon franchise, leading to a lawsuit from Nintendo in September 2024 over alleged patent infringements. In response to these legal challenges, Pocketpair made adjustments to the game, including removing the ability to summon creatures via Pal Spheres in a December update.