Path of Exile 2 release crashes SteamDB, gets 500k concurrent players two days in a row

Path of Exile 2 has had perhaps one of the most explosive launches in gaming history. With well over a million players scrambling to access the game on launch day, servers encountered a major load, which led to errors on all platforms. The developers were quick to resolve most issues, but given the sheer volume of players, returning to normalcy will take some time.

Given the hype behind Path of Exile 2, this surge of players was expected. After all, it's not every day that an old-school action role-playing video game of such magnitude releases. With its predecessor (Path of Exile) setting a benchmark in video games, the next installment was bound to be a hit.

Speaking of hits, the surge of players and search queries was so great that the website, SteamDB, was also caught up in the crossfire.

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SteamDB crashes after Path of Exile 2 goes live, concurrent player count is steady at 500k

Before the game's launch, the developers set up a thread of sorts on the social media platform X to update players. Under the same post, the account for SteamDB commented, stating that the launch of the game caused their website to crash as well. This is what they had to say:

"you've also brought down Steamdb because everyone went to check it lol."

Given the sheer hype surrounding Path of Exile 2, the game's servers being overloaded was expected. However, having third-party websites crash is something that no one could have anticipated. It would seem that everyone wanted to check out the current stats for the game and how many concurrent layers there were.

Concurrent player count for day two is slightly higher than day one (Image via SteamDb)

As it stands, December 7, 2024, saw 539,149 concurrent players, while December 8, 2024, saw 578, 569 concurrent players. This brings the two-day concurrent count to well over 1 million players. Keep in mind this is while PoE2 is still in early access.

Given the trajectory, the concurrent count for day three could remain at a steady 500k (plus) as well. These are just the stats for Steam. Other platforms are also boasting thousands of players. By the looks of things, PoE2 is going to be the center of attention for the genre for a few weeks to come.

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Read more Path of Exile 2 articles here:

• Gearing guide for beginners: When and how to modify gear
• A complete beginner's guide to Path of Exile 2