Slay the Spire 2 Hits 185,000 Peak Players on Launch

Mega Crit's highly anticipated sequel, Slay the Spire 2, launched in early access on Steam on March 5, 2026, drawing an unprecedented surge of players that briefly overwhelmed the platform and propelled it to the top of the storefront's concurrent player charts.

The game became available at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, coinciding with the release of Bungie's multiplayer shooter Marathon. Within the first hour, Slay the Spire 2 exceeded 100,000 concurrent players, climbing to 135,000 by the 90-minute mark and peaking at over 185,000 later that day. This figure nearly doubled Marathon's concurrent count of around 90,000, highlighting the indie title's immediate dominance despite its focus on single-player roguelike deckbuilding mechanics. For context, the original Slay the Spire reached a peak of 57,025 concurrent players during its 2017 early access debut, though it later sold over 1.5 million copies through strong word-of-mouth growth.

The launch was not without hiccups. Steam's store pages stalled and some purchases were delayed in processing for approximately 30 minutes as fans rushed to download the game. Developers from other studios, anticipating the influx, adjusted their own...