One of the biggest sensations in 2024 (and in gaming history), Palworld, has crossed 25 million players in a single month, developers shared on social media. By doing so, the Pokémon-inspired game has beaten out Nintendo’s major entry in the franchise, Scarlet and Violet.
Palworld developers celebrated the game’s first month on X (formerly Twitter) on Feb. 22 by sharing the news that their action-survival title has garnered over 25 million players across Steam and Xbox. The former carried around 15 million players, while Microsoft’s platform brought in over 10 million players to 2024’s biggest game. In the same tweet, the developers vouched to continue supporting the game, primarily focusing on eradicating cheaters and bugs, and thanked the Palworld community for their overwhelming support.
Palworld is also closing in on Nintendo’s Pokémon franchise in terms of total sales numbers. It has already surpassed Scarlet and Violet, which stands at 24.36 million units sold, according to Nintendo’s official numbers. Sword and Shield, by far the most-sold Pokémon entry, shipped 26.17 million copies, leaving Palworld within spitting distance of Nintendo’s prized games. Keep in mind that Sword and Shield came out in 2019, and Scarlet and Violet also have over a year under their belt. With only a month of existence, Pocketpair’s viral title still has a long way to go and is on track to surpass many more popular games and franchises as time goes by.
The world of gaming continues to experience the strangest period yet, with massive layoffs and trouble in the corporate world and viral video games dropping left and right. From Palworld to Enshrouded to Helldivers 2, players and enthusiasts have had a ton to play and see. If everything continues, we may have on our hands simultaneously the worst and best year for gaming in recent memory.
