Slay the Spire 2's Steam domination was always written in the stars, according to Palworld dev who is "genuinely surprised by how many people" are blindsided

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Slay the Spire 2's Steam domination was always written in the stars, according to Palworld dev who is "genuinely surprised by how many people" are blindsided News By Kaan Serin published 7 March 2026

Mega Crit's first game was a big deal too

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Slay the Spire 2 is absolutely ripping apart every Steam chart there is, but its mega success isn't a surprise to one prominent Palworld dev who's only shocked that the roguelike's blindsided so many other people.

Slay the Spire 2 was always expected to be a big deal - it's following up one of the most critically acclaimed deckbuilding roguelikes of all time, after all - but what was perhaps not expected is just how much of a big deal the indie has been. The sequel easily passed the concurrent Steam player peaks of several AAA games, like Elden Ring Nightreign, and now holds onto the highest peak for any roguelike on the platform, as well as overwhelmingly positive user reviews.

Pocketpair's communications and publishing lead John 'Bucky' Buckley has now chimed in on the game's gigantic success. "I'm genuinely surprised by how many people on Twitter seem to be surprised that Slay the Spire 2 is dominating the Steam charts," he writes. "This was never up for discussion. It was written in the stars. Slay the Spire is an all time masterpiece. The gamers have been activated."

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• Slay the Spire 2 beats Elden Ring Nightreign as Steam's biggest roguelike, as launch players rise 162,000% over the OG
• "Slay the Spire but better": Slay the Spire 2 continues Steam domination with 6,000 Overwhelmingly Positive reviews
• Slay the Spire 2 flies past 165,000 concurrent Steam players, instantly nearly tripling the original's all-time peak

For context, the first game has near-perfect reviews on the platform despite 180,000 or so players leaving their thoughts. And that's not even taking into account the people who played (and probably loved) the moreish card game on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

"Thinking about it though, maybe this is a great example of the Twitter discourse bubble vs the reality of gamers," Buckley accurately continues. "Even looking at the 'trending' gaming topics on Twitter now… Well, I suppose the real gamers are too busy actually gaming SLAY THE SPIRE BABYYYYYYYYY."

"This seems a bit meaner than it was intended": Slay the Spire 2 lead backtracks on Marathon "small indie passion projects" joke as the roguelike unexpectedly dominates Steam

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. CATEGORIES PC Gaming Platforms Kaan SerinSocial Links NavigationFreelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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Logout Read more Slay the Spire 2 beats Elden Ring Nightreign as Steam's biggest roguelike, as launch players rise 162,000% over the OG    "Slay the Spire but better": Slay the Spire 2 continues Steam domination with 6,000 Overwhelmingly Positive reviews    Slay the Spire 2 flies past 165,000 concurrent Steam players, instantly nearly tripling the original's all-time peak    Slay the Spire 2 lead backtracks on Marathon "small indie passion projects" joke as the roguelike dominates Steam    Slay the Spire 2 devs shout out Hades, Elden Ring Nightreign, and more for making an impact on their roguelike sequel    Slay the Spire 2 devs "admire the tenacity" of fellow roguelike dev who isn't moving their release date because of them    Latest in Roguelike Games "Slay the Spire but better": Slay the Spire 2 continues Steam domination with 6,000 Overwhelmingly Positive reviews    Slay the Spire 2 beats Elden Ring Nightreign as Steam's biggest roguelike, as launch players rise 162,000% over the OG    Slay the Spire 2 lead backtracks on Marathon "small indie passion projects" joke as the roguelike dominates Steam    Slay the Spire 2 flies past 165,000 concurrent Steam players, instantly nearly tripling the original's all-time peak    Move over, Slay the Spire 2 and Mewgenics – the self-proclaimed "best roguelike in 2026" launches into 1.0 in April    Balatro's legacy has spawned yet another time-devouring roguelike, and I might have ruined Steam Next Fest for myself    Latest in News Slay the Spire 2's Steam domination was always "written in the stars", according to surprised Palworld dev    Resident Evil Requiem's Grace actor says Leon's actor loves RE so much that everyone in the studio brought their A-game    After a plane and a train, Hijack showrunner jokes season 3 could be "on a boat", "on an e-bike", or even "a submarine"    War Machine star Alan Ritchson says the film's most dangerous stunt was "pretty terrifying," as he ziplined over rapids    Final Fantasy 7 Remake director confirms Rocket Town is back in part 3 and Wutai is "one of the main locations"    Overwatch's 69.1% ban rate for Jetpack Cat will surprise "absolutely no one," but Domina haters need to get good    GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS

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