Despite a rocky launch with server issues lasting over 6 hours, MMOARPG Lost Ark made a triumphant comeback when the servers eventually went live, reaching nearly one million concurrent players on Steam and launching its way into the top 5 most concurrent players.
A Rocky Road to Victory
While server issues on launch maybe be a troubling sign for any other game, Lost Ark seems to have weathered the storm, coming out of the other side stronger than ever. Reaching a peak of 984,111 in a single day, the game is hot on the heels of huge heavy hitters like Cyberpunk 2077, DOTA 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, which have seen their highest numbers between the 1 and 1.3 million mark.
When the servers launched on Friday, 11 February, it wasn't all plain sailing, with Lost Ark seemingly buckling under the weight of its own expectations. This wasn't a quick fix however, and took a large portion of the day to get everything back on track. Thankfully, patience and perseverance have apparently paid off, with these numbers serving as an incredible accolade for the game. An eager player base couldn't wait to get started.
Another game Lost Ark has narrowly beat out for its place in the top 5 of most concurrent players is New World. The game, also published by Amazon Game Studios, had a similar success story last year, eventually reaching an all-time peak of 913,634 players.
A Sleeper Hit
Lost Ark's popularity has been bubbling under the surface in the West for quite some time, having launched in Korea two years ago and becoming a huge hit over in Eastern territories. As a free-to-play MMORPG, its proved to be something of a more accessible version of World of Warcraft or RuneScape.
While it may be quite a way away from the top spot of PUBG's 3.2 concurrent player peak, this has proved to be an excellent start to the game's service.