Slay the Spire 2 is finally out in Steam Early Access, and it’s already proving to be a huge hit with players. Slay the Spire 2‘s Steam release has been a long time coming, with the sequel first being announced back in April 2024.
Originally released in January 2019 following its own stint in Steam Early Access, the first Slay the Spire is widely considered to be one of the best roguelikes ever made. For those unaware, Slay the Spire is a roguelike deck-builder that sees players choose a specific character with predetermined abilities and attempt to beat each floor of an ascending tower using the cards and items they discover along the way. Slay the Spire was a major critical and commercial success, with developer Mega Crit confirming that 1.5 million copies had been sold by March 2019, and with the game earning a Top Critic Average of 89 on OpenCritic.
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Slay the Spire 2 Is Doing Big Numbers on Steam
- Achieved an all-time peak player count of 282,314 on launch day
Seven years after its predecessor hit the Steam front page, Slay the Spire 2 is here to continue its legacy. This sequel brings two all-new characters to the table, along with a plethora of new cards and items, new lore elements, new enemies and bosses, and a new 4-player co-op mode. The long-awaited sequel also boasts more detailed animations and a more vibrant art style.
Despite launching in early access, Slay the Spire 2 has already passed an incredible milestone in terms of player count. According to tracking site SteamDB, Slay the Spire 2 currently has an all-time peak player count of 282,314, which the game achieved at 11pm ET on its March 5 release day. At the time of writing (4am ET), Slay the Spire 2 has an active player count of 249,728. According to SteamDB, Slay the Spire 2 is currently the fourth most played game on Steam, coming below Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and just a little under PUBG: Battlegrounds. At the time of writing, Slay the Spire 2 has more active players than Rust, Arc Raiders, Apex Legends, and Resident Evil Requiem.
In just one day, Slay the Spire 2 has managed to bring in more than four times as many players as its predecessor did during its own peak. The original Slay the Spire had a peak 24-hour player count of 33,086 on its initial early access launch day in February 2018. When it launched fully on Steam in February 2019, it had a peak player count of just 12,442. Slay the Spire‘s all-time peak player count actually occurred long after launch, with it bringing in 57,025 players in December 2025. Slay the Spire 2 has also set a new record for the roguelike genre on Steam, more than doubling the all-time peak player counts of Mewgenics and Hades 2, the previous record holders.
Given the game’s early access nature, not many critic reviews of Slay the Spire 2 are currently available. That said, the sequel seems to have hit the mark with players, with it earning an ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ score from 6,731 Steam user reviews.
Slay the Spire 2 More Than Doubled Marathon’s Player Count
Slay the Spire 2 was just one of several big games to hit Steam on March 5, with one of the biggest arguably being Bungie’s Marathon. A first-person Sci-Fi extraction shooter, Marathon has had a rather tumultuous development, with Bungie delaying the game indefinitely following its April 2025 closed alpha. But Marathon is now officially out, and while its day-one player count is solid, especially for a paid live-service game, it pales in comparison to Slay the Spire 2. Marathon achieved a day-one peak player count of 88,337, which is around 31% of Slay the Spire 2‘s peak player count.
- Released
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March, 2026
- Developer(s)
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Mega Crit
- Publisher(s)
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Mega Crit
- Engine
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Godot
