Palworld is once again one of the most played games on Steam this weekend.

Palworld finally released in full on PC and consoles on 10th July, and while it still hasn’t quite managed to top its massive 2.1m concurrent player peak from early 2024, according to SteamDB this is the second time it’s almost topped the charts as the most played game on Steam of the entire weekend, second only to Counter-Strike 2.

While the top games can vary throughout the year depending on what’s out and what’s hot, it’s rare indeed to see Dota 2 knocked down into third place, but that’s exactly what Palworld has managed to do. Again. For the second weekend in a row.

In fact, only three games have ever boasted more than two million concurrent players on Steam: PUBG, Black Myth: Wukong, and Palworld.

To put that in perspective, only five others have ever breached a million concurrents – Counter-Strike 2, Monster Hunter Wilds, Lost Ark, Dota 2, and Cyberpunk 2077.

It’s particularly impressive given other games vying for Steam’s top spot like PUBG, Counter-Strike 2, Lost Ark, and Dota 2 are all ostensibly free-to-play, premium expansions and season/battle passes aside, of course.

Before the game was released, many dubbed it ‘Pokémon with guns’ due to the familiar designs of some Palworld creatures and some in-game mechanics. Nintendo announced it was suing Pocketpair for infringement of “multiple” patents back in September 2024, and it was later confirmed that the lawsuit is targeting three patents in particular.

As part of an update in December, Pocketpair subsequently removed the ability to summon creatures by throwing Pokéball-style Pal Spheres.

Palworld released in early access in January 2024, and left early access on 10th July.