It's often a good idea to check SteamDB at the end of the year, to get an idea of how the gaming landscape has changed over the past while. It can give you some great info on general trends, but you're not gonna avoid sudden data spikes - and an especially well-timed update from Pocketpair has given us one of those.

Remember when Palworld first launched, and the hype for that game was, well, everywhere? Palworld: Feybreak hasn't reached those same heights yet, but it's easily been the game's biggest popularity spike since launch.

Palworld is sitting atop a throne of 200,000 concurrent players. That's the current 24-hour peak of the game, and as of this exact moment of writing, it's sitting at a "modest" 123,000.

This release puts it within Steam's top 10 most played games. It beats the numbers of Call of Duty and Baldur's Gate 3.

Pocketpair's game has a mighty hill in front of them, as GTA is the next challenge for them to surpass - and while current projections show that it's unlikely to shove GTA aside, Feybreak proves that Palworld can still put a dent in one of gaming's biggest titans.

Given the scope of the Feybreak update, it's not all too surprising that we're seeing a massive player surge right now. Palworld: Feybreak is as much an overhaul as it is a content expansion, with a whole load of quality-of-life features added alongside new Pals and new lands to explore.

It's still worth noting, though, that Pocketpair have yet to take Palworld out of early access. Many interested players are holding back, patiently waiting for the final, "finished" experience. Subnautica followed a similar release model, and when that game hit full release, the resulting player surge made that game famous enough to earn mentions in articles about otherwise-unrelated games.

Palworld certainly has another surge on the horizon - but will it be big enough to surpass its launch day hype? Perhaps - but perhaps not. One of the consequences of launching with a massive playerbase is that, when those players drop off, the game will get a reputation as a "flash in the pan".

For each player still waiting for a full release, plenty more just see Palworld as a temporary fad past its prime. Pocketpair will need to fight this reputation at some point, and the sooner they can shed it, the better.

When looking at the SteamDB charts for Palworld - the recent data spike may be stark - but scale the view back to reveal the game's all-time statistics. Feybreak is a huge release for Palworld, but it's got a long road to climb if Pocketpair wants to see those launch day numbers again.

Posted: Jan 01, 2025 3:04 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://www.dualshockers.com/palworld-feybreak-steam-top-10-games/