PoE2 and Marvel Rivals Ignite Gaming Frenzy in Epic Debut

Path of Exile 2 and Marvel Rivals ignited the gaming world with spectacularly successful launch weekends. Discover the impressive milestones achieved by these two titles.

A Half-Million Strong Player Base

A Weekend of Record-Breaking Launches

The weekend saw the triumphant debuts of two highly anticipated games, each attracting an astounding 500,000 players on their respective 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 on Steam alone peaked at a remarkable 578,569 concurrent players. This is a significant achievement, especially considering the paid Early Access model. Twitch viewership for the game exceeded 1 million on launch day, demonstrating its immense popularity. The sheer volume of players even briefly overwhelmed SteamDB, the database site tracking Steam statistics, leading to a humorous acknowledgment from SteamDB itself.

Even before launch, Path of Exile 2 had already surpassed 1 million pre-orders, a number that continued to climb rapidly in the hours leading up to the servers opening. The unexpected influx of players purchasing Early Access prompted a last-minute database upgrade by the development team to handle the massive traffic. Despite this expansion, 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!