Lost Ark’s launch on PC has been overwhelming. MostLost Arkplayers understand this inherently, as the MMO ARPG’s servers are filling up quickly resulting in queues and frequent maintenance. While the technical issues continue to pose a problem for Amazon andLost Ark’s community, it’s also in a situation worth celebrating. With that in mind, Amazon has shared some ofLost Ark’s accomplishments stemming from its launch on Steam, as well as its popularity on Twitch.
To start,Lost Arkattained an incredible accomplishment on Steam. The game reached over 1.325 million concurrent players on the PC gaming platform. That number makesLost Arkthe second-highest played game of all time on Steam, passing bothDota 2andCounter-Strike: Global Offensive’s peak. The only game higher thanLost Arkon the chart isPlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, now known asPUBG: Battlegrounds, which reached a mind-boggling 3.25 million concurrent players in its launch window.Lost Arkmay never reach that, but being second best next to it is worth celebrating.
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Lost Arkalso launched at a time when MMOs have grown to be a significantly popular genre for Twitch streamers to play. It’s then no surprise thatLost Arkinstantly became the most popular game to watch on Twitch for its launch. Amazon says thatLost Arkaccrued a peak of 1.2 million concurrent viewers at that point, with more than 112,000 streams broadcasting the game. Popular Twitch streamerAsmongold peaked at 427,880 viewersat one point during launch, though he wasn’t actually playing the game. They may not be records, but they’re impressive numbers, nonetheless.
Lastly, Amazon shared some of its internal numbers forLost Ark’s launch. The MMO, as of February 14, pulled in 4.7 million new registered players in the west alone. 55% of those players are from North America and 45% are from Europe. And that’s not even mentioningLost Ark’s continued popularity in the east.
It’s a very healthy start for a free-to-play game, butLost Arkalready proved its success through the sale of premiumFounder’s Packsprior to launch, too.Lost Arkmay have reached 1.3 million concurrent players on Steam after free-to-play launched, but it was already at 532,000 concurrent players prior to that. That’s a significant number of premium Founder’s Packs sold.
Big numbers for an MMO’s launch are hugely significant regarding the long-term success of the game. However, it’s just the first step in a long process.Lost Arknow has to prove that it can retain players, which isn’t easy in today’s constantly changing gaming environment.Amazon and Smilegatecan celebrate for the moment, but then it’s back to work.
