The long-awaited sequel to one of the most beloved roguelike deckbuilders has arrived, and it’s already making history.
Slay the Spire 2 launched in early access on PC and quickly shattered a major Steam record, reaching over 177,000 concurrent players within hours of release. The number was still climbing at the time of reporting, setting a new benchmark for roguelike games on the platform.
For a sequel that fans have waited years for, the explosive launch shows just how powerful the franchise has become in the modern indie gaming scene.
Before this launch, the record for the highest concurrent player count for a roguelike on Steam belonged to Hades II, which reached around 112,000 players during its early access debut.
More recently, the quirky indie title Mewgenics briefly overtook that number with 115,000 concurrent players.
Emmanuel Umahi
At its peak on launch day, Slay the Spire 2 climbed to become the fourth most-played game on Steam, trailing only massive live-service titles such as Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and ARC Raiders.
It even briefly outperformed newer releases like Resident Evil Requiem in real-time player numbers, though Capcom’s horror title still holds a much higher overall peak.
The original Slay the Spire became a breakout indie hit when it launched, blending elements from deckbuilding card games, roguelikes, and dungeon crawlers into a single addictive gameplay loop.
Players build unique card decks while climbing a procedurally generated tower, fighting enemies, collecting relics, and making strategic choices that change each run.
The game’s deep strategy, endless replayability, and modding community helped it build a loyal following, one that clearly showed up for the sequel’s early access launch.
For now, Slay the Spire 2 is only available on PC through early access, allowing developers to refine gameplay systems with feedback from players.
However, the original game eventually expanded to consoles and mobile devices, so it’s widely expected that the sequel will follow the same path once development is complete.
Emmanuel Umahi
