Palworld explodes! Over 8 million copies sold in Just 6 days!

Source: Reddit

In just six days, Palworld sold over a million copies solely on Steam, shattering expectations and developer predictions. This open-world survival game from Pocketpair has become 2024's first gaming phenomenon, and it's only just begun. 

So, buckle up and join us as here we have some eye-popping data to back that up, and the reasons behind Palworld's meteoric rise, and will explore what all the fuss is about.

What is the game Palworld about?

Palworld is an action-adventure, survival, and monster-taming game created and published by Japanese developer, Pocket Pair. Commonly referred to as “Pokémon with guns,” Palworld is basically about building structures and crafting medicines to survive on the beautiful and harsh islands of the Galapagos. To do this, players capture and exploit the labor of—monsters known as Pals, who can do everything from fight to build. 

Source: Steam

While the hook is the similar to Nintendo’s iconic IP, the game is a bit closer to Ark: Survival Evolved than anything Pokémon-related. Palworld has attracted a lot of criticism for how closely its monsters resemble those of Nintendo’s, but it’s selling like hotcakes.

The game can be played either solo or online with up to 32 players on one server. Palworld was launched through early access for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in January 2024.

The trailer announcement of game initially went viral when it dropped in 2021, but there was little to no buzz surrounding the game until it was officially released on Steam and Xbox. Today, Palworld is the most played game on Stream, with a larger number of concurrent players than some of the most popular games of the last few years, including Elden Ring, Counter-Strike 2 and Hogwarts Legacy. 

Palworld Sold Over a Million Copies in its first Week 

Surpirngly, as per The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley, this sales figure is for Steam units only. As of now, it doesn’t include sales on Xbox consoles or downloads through Microsoft’s subscription service, Xbox Game Pass. 

Either way, as Keighley stated, seven million copies sold on Steam amounts to approximately $189 million in sales. That means Palworld is currently more popular than other popular games like Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and PUBG: Battlegrounds.

While talking about numbers, On January 19, 2024, Palworld sold over one million copies in its first eight hours of early access, which rose to two million copies within the first 24 hours, three million copies within the first 40 hours, five million copies by day 3, six million by day 4,seven million by day 5, and eight million by day 6. 

And by January 24, 2024, it crossed over 2,000,000 concurrent players on Steam, becoming the first game since PUBG: Battlegrounds to achieve this feat. However, ultimately, the high player count led to server issues. On January 27, the game recorded 2,101,867 concurrent players on Steam. As of February 1, Palworld sold 12 million copies on Steam and had reached 7 million players on Xbox. 

According to Microsoft, the game was the most-played 3rd party release on Xbox Game Pass, gaining a peak of almost 3 million daily active players on the Xbox platform.

These numbers clearly indicate that the road ahead is long.

Speaking of roads, Pocketpair also outlined the future plan for Palworld on January 24. As of now the team is currently eyeing a bunch of updates for the game, which includes PvP and cross-platform play. It’s tough to compete with Pokémon’s longevity, but Palworld could have a longer shelf life than expected if these updates drop in a timely fashion. 

While many of us couldn't stop talking about this game, and now are hooked on exploring and battling together, it will not be wrong to say that word-of-mouth marketing clearly is doing its job for Pocketpair. 

Source: Steam's #1 game Palworld Lives Up to the Hype

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q. How many copies has Palworld sold?

As of today, February 7, 2024, Palworld has sold over 8 million copies on Steam alone. This impressive number was achieved within just six days of its early access release on January 18th, 2024. It's important to note that this doen’t include sales on other platforms like Xbox, where it's also available through Game Pass, making the total number of players likely even higher.

Q. How many people have bought Palworld?

It’s hard to say how many individual people have bought Palworld, as there’s has been no official information exists on the exact number of individual players. However, as per developer Pocketpair has revealed that the survival game has seen over 19 million players since launching January 19.

Q. How many copies of Palworld sold on Steam?

As of today, February 7, 2024, Palworld has sold over 12 million copies on Steam. It's important to note that this doen’t include sales on other platforms like Xbox, where it's also available through Game Pass, making the total number of players likely even higher.

Q. How much did it cost to make Palworld?

In a blog post, Pocketpair's CEO Takuro Mizobe revealed the game cost one billion yen to develop. As of today, February 7th, 2024, this translates to roughly $6.75 million USD.

Q. Who is creating Palworld?

Palworld is being created and published by Pocket Pair, an independent company based in Shinagawa, Tokyo. 

Q. Is Palworld free?

No, Palworld is not free-to-play on any platform. It's currently accessible on PC and Xbox Series X/S, but the price players pay may be different. The PC version of the game, purchased via Steam, costs $26.99 USD for now, but the price is set to increase to $29.99 on January 25, 2024.

Q. How many people can play Palworld?

Players, those playing Palworld on Xbox Series X|S can only share their world with up to three other players simultaneously, while PC players can enjoy 32-player sessions.

Q. Will Palworld come out?

Palworld is already out for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Windows PC, and is available with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.