Highlights
- Slay the Spire 2 hit 574,638 concurrent players, becoming Steam's biggest launch of 2026.
- The roguelike sequel crushed AAA rivals like Resident Evil Requiem and Marathon.
- Boasting a 97% approval rating, the game adds new characters and a four-player co-op mode.
Mega Crit’s Slay the Spire 2 has completely taken over Steam following its Early Access launch on March 5, 2026. Priced at $25, the game brought in a massive flood of players that even caused brief outages on the platform. The indie sequel exploded right out of the gate, setting a new benchmark for roguelikes by reaching 282,314 concurrent players within its first 24 hours. That figure was quickly eclipsed as it climbed to 574,638 players. This colossal surge firmly establishes Slay the Spire 2 as the biggest Steam launch of the year so far.
The sheer volume of players places the indie darling far ahead of recent big-budget releases and cements its status as the absolute top performer in its genre. To put this massive lead into perspective, Slay the Spire 2 easily crushed the launch numbers of the year's other heavy hitters. Capcom’s highly anticipated Resident Evil Requiem peaked at 344,214 players, the hit indie Mewgenics reached 115,428, and Bungie’s extraction shooter Marathon topped out at 88,337. The deckbuilder also soared past the previous roguelike record set by Hades 2 and other genre giants like Balatro and Vampire Survivors.
Right now, the game is sitting comfortably at the very top of Steam’s best sellers chart, outperforming massive titles like Counter-Strike 2. On the overall most-played charts, it climbed to an incredible fourth place, sitting just behind live-service titans like CS2, Dota 2, and PUBG.
Steam
Mega Crit Reacts to Massive Indie Player Counts
This overwhelming commercial success actually caught the development team off guard. Mega Crit co-founder Casey Yano admitted on social media that the studio never expected to pass AAA titles in active user counts, expressing that the team was totally blown away by the outpouring of community support, as per Rougelike.
The phenomenal growth represents an increase over the original Slay the Spire's all-time high of just over 57,000 concurrent players. The new peak fell a mere 12,000 players short of the massive all-time indie record set by Hollow Knight: Silksong in 2025, prompting the developers to playfully promise they would catch up to the beloved metroidvania one day.
Slay the Spire 2 is currently sustaining a very healthy base of around 300,000 active players, showing that its addictive runs have serious staying power. The sequel builds heavily upon the beloved foundation of its predecessor, offering fans new characters, fresh card mechanics, and a brand-new four-player cooperative mode that has been heavily praised by the community.
Backed by an overwhelmingly positive 97% approval rating from user reviews, it's clear the momentum won't be slowing down anytime soon. While Mega Crit is currently wearing the crown for the biggest Steam launch of 2026, the deckbuilder may not hold this top spot for the entire year. Massive upcoming releases like Forza Horizon 6 and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach are expected to make major waves on the platform in the months to come.
For now, however, Slay the Spire 2 has proven that a passionate indie team with a brilliant gameplay hook can easily stand toe-to-toe with the biggest publishers in the gaming industry.
