PoE2 and Marvel Rivals Sets Gaming World Ablaze with Successful Weekend Launch

Path of Exile 2 and Marvel Rivals ignited the gaming world with incredibly successful launch weekends. Let's delve into the impressive numbers.

Half a Million Strong

A Weekend of Record-Breaking Launches

The weekend saw the simultaneous release of two highly anticipated titles, each boasting a remarkable 500,000 player count on their launch days. Marvel Rivals, a free-to-play team-based PVP arena shooter, launched 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 noteworthy, reaching a peak of 578,569 concurrent players on Steam alone. This impressive figure is even more remarkable considering the game's paid Early Access status. Twitch viewership for the game also soared, exceeding 1 million on launch day. The game's popularity even briefly overwhelmed SteamDB, the popular database site, leading to a humorous acknowledgment from SteamDB itself.

Pre-orders for Path of Exile 2 surpassed 1 million before launch, with sales rapidly increasing in the hours leading up to release. The overwhelming influx of players purchasing Early Access prompted a last-minute database upgrade by the development team. Despite this proactive measure, some players experienced login issues and disconnections, highlighting the immense anticipation surrounding the game's release.

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