Palworld passes 1m concurrent players

A new open-world survival and crafting game, released last Friday (19 January 2024) in early access, has exceeded 1,5-million concurrent players on Steam, making it one of six games to break the 1-million mark.

Players experienced some server outages, and other serious issues, however this setback did not prevent huge numbers of gamers flocking to the game. As a result, Palworld has exceeded 1,5-million concurrent players, ranking it 3rd for the highest concurrent player count in the history of Steam. The big 5 previously consisted of PUBG (3,25M), Counter-Strike (1,81M), Lost Ark (1,32M), Dota 2 (1,29M), and Cyberpunk 2077 (1M).

_{Image courtesy Palworld, from Twitter}

In 4 days, 6-million copies have been sold.

In the Pokémon spinoff, one must choose to coexist peacefully with enigmatic creatures called Pals, or take on the perilous task of confronting a merciless poaching syndicate. Pals can be employed for combat purposes, utilised for labour on farms or in factories, and can even be traded or consumed.

In the open-world gameplay, players endure an unforgiving landscape where sustenance is scarce and ruthless poachers abound; peril lurks at every turn. Survival demands a cautious stride and the willingness to confront tough decisions, even if it entails consuming your own companions when necessity dictates. Up to four players can play together in the online co-op multiplayer mode.

Pals can be harnessed for exploration across diverse terrains, from land and sea to the expansive sky, and to tackle dungeons. The creatures assist in structure building, item production, farming and automating factory processes.

Developed and published by Poket Pair, Palworld is currently available at R243 on Steam. 

* Visit the official Palworld website here.

* Jason Bannier is a data analyst at World Wide Worx and writer for Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter and Threads at @jas2bann.