Palworld outplays Fortnite in daily Xbox US gamers

Palworld, a recently released open-world survival game, is rapidly gaining popularity among gamers, especially on the Xbox platform. According to a report by the Circana's Player Engagement Tracker, on January 22, Palworld's daily active players on Xbox in the United States briefly exceeded those of Fortnite, a remarkable achievement for the new title. This spike in activity had Palworld players logging more than 200 minutes of gameplay on average. The game's growth is underscored by impressive sales, with 7 million copies sold just five days after launching in Early Access. It also recorded 1,864,421 concurrent players on Steam, surpassing Counter-Strike and becoming the second-most-played game in the history of Valve's platform. Despite its success, Palworld, known for blending survival elements with a creature collection system similar to Pokémon, has faced controversy over claims of being a "rip-off" and differences between its Xbox and Steam versions.

What is Palworld?nPalworld is an open-world survival game where players can explore, battle, and capture creatures called "Pals," which aid in various tasks, including combat. The game offers a unique combination of survival mechanics and a creature collection system, leading it to be humorously described as "Pokemon with guns." It's available in Early Access and has been both acclaimed for its engaging gameplay and criticized for its close resemblance to the Pokémon series.

As additional background information, Palworld is developed by Pocketpair and was first released in Early Access, which allows players to purchase and play the game while it's still under development. The game's aim is to survive in an open world while using the help of Pals, which can be tamed and trained. The controversies surrounding the game, such as receiving death threats over its similarity to Pokémon and differences in game versions, highlight the challenges that new titles can face in a market with passionate and protective fanbases.