Path of Exile 2 and Marvel Rivals ignited the gaming world with incredibly successful launch weekends, each attracting a massive player base. Discover the details of these remarkable achievements!

A Half-Million Strong Player Base

A Weekend of Record-Breaking Launches

The weekend saw the triumphant launches of two highly anticipated titles: Marvel Rivals and Path of Exile 2. Both games welcomed over 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 was particularly impressive, reaching a peak of 578,569 concurrent players on Steam alone. This remarkable achievement is even more significant considering the game's paid Early Access status. Twitch viewership for the game also soared, exceeding 1 million viewers on launch day. The game's popularity even temporarily overwhelmed SteamDB, the database site 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 climbed in the hours before server activation. This unprecedented demand forced the development team to implement a last-minute database upgrade to handle the influx of new players. Despite these server expansions, some players experienced disconnections and login issues, highlighting the intense anticipation surrounding the game's release.

Read Game8's review of Path of Exile 2's Early Access version!