A multiplayer game released just over two weeks ago has already surpassed games such as Minecraft, GTA V, and Counter-Strike 2 in popularity.
Palworld, an open-world survival game where a player can collect “Pal” creatures, somewhat similar to Pokémon Go, was released on January 18th and gained instant popularity.
According to new research by gaming news website GamingGadgets.de, Palworld has surpassed Pokémon Go in popularity on the Twitch social media platform.
Palworld has already accumulated nearly 28 million watch hours, while the entire Pokémon series has been watched over 2 million hours.
For their analysis, experts analyzed over 50 Pokémon games currently streamed on Twitch.“Comparing the most popular Pokémon game (Scarlet/Violet) over a yearly period to Palworld’s recent seven-day performance still shows Palworld in the lead. Palworld’s week-long viewership stood at around 49.9 million hours, whereas Pokémon Scarlet/Violet’s year-long viewership was nearly 41 million,” the report reads.
It also noted that Palworld was being broadcasted by 169,343 channels over seven days, vastly outnumbering Pokémon’s 16,544 broadcasts.
“The surge in Palworld’s popularity might reflect the Pokémon community’s eagerness to explore familiar characters in varied formats. Fans seem excited to see their favorite Pokémon-inspired elements in different gaming genres,” Nico Arnold from GamingGadgets.de, said.“Palworld’s success suggests an evolving landscape where elements from iconic series like Pokémon are reimagined, potentially leading to a wider array of Pokémon-inspired games, such as strategy or racing, in the future.”
Demand for hosting
The instant popularity of the game hasn’t gone unnoticed by other digital pundits, either. Hostinger, a web hosting company, observed a substantial increase in demand for Palworld server hosting, with players eager to host their dedicated servers to enjoy the game with friends and community members.
“We’ve noticed this growing interest firsthand. Within just a few days, tens of thousands of people have been interested in how to host Palworld dedicated server at Hostinger, and many of them have also chosen to book our VPS hosting with a Game Panel that fits perfectly with Palworld, as well as many other games, such as Minecraft, Valheim, Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, and many more,” the company’s spokesperson told Cybernews via email.
