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Palworld is once again dominating Steam this weekend, clocking up almost 1m concurrent players
Palworld has once again come close to topping Steam's weekend player charts, drawing in almost 1 million concurrent players and knocking Dota 2 down to third place. This is notable because the game, often dubbed "Pokémon with guns," officially left early access and launched in full on PC and consoles on 10th July, showing sustained popularity even after its initial 2024 hype cycle.
According to data from SteamDB, this marks the second consecutive weekend that Palworld has nearly claimed the top spot, sitting just behind Counter-Strike 2, and its resurgence is particularly striking given that other top contenders such as PUBG, Counter-Strike 2, Lost Ark and Dota 2 are free-to-play titles. Palworld previously peaked at 2.1 million concurrent players in early 2024, and it remains one of only three games ever to surpass 2 million concurrents on Steam, alongside PUBG and Black Myth: Wukong. The game has also faced ongoing legal scrutiny, with Nintendo suing developer Pocketpair in September 2024 over alleged patent infringement, prompting Pocketpair to remove the Pokéball-style "Pal Sphere" creature-summoning mechanic in a December update.
In short
- Palworld nears 1m concurrent Steam players for second weekend running
- It has pushed Dota 2 into third place behind Counter-Strike 2
- Game faces ongoing Nintendo patent lawsuit despite continued popularity
Explained simply
Palworld is a video game for PC and consoles that combines creature-collecting with shooting elements, often described as "Pokémon with guns." The game officially launched in full on 10 July after spending time in early access, and has maintained a large playerbase since its release.
The game's continued popularity is unusual because most of Steam's most-played titles are free-to-play, whereas Palworld requires players to purchase it. The game attracted 2 million simultaneous players in early 2024, making it only the third game ever to reach that milestone alongside PUBG and Black Myth: Wukong.
Nintendo sued Palworld's developer Pocketpair in September 2024, alleging the game infringed patents related to creature-catching mechanics. In response, Pocketpair removed a feature called the Pal Sphere from the game in December 2024; this mechanic had resembled Pokémon's iconic Pokéball design.