It’s even more ridiculous when you consider its predecessor hit 1.5 million sales about two months after release (that too after spending nearly two years in early access). Which isn’t to say that Crimson Desert struggled, despite a spectrum of reviews and a “Mixed” rating at launch. It reportedly sold almost two million copies on Steam last month, with Elliott previously alleging that it crossed $200 million revenue across all platforms.

As for Resident Evil Requiem, it reportedly sold 1.2 million copies in March, resulting in $70 million in revenue (with total sales on Steam now seemingly at 2.9 million). Capcom confirmed over two weeks after launch that the survival horror sequel had sold over six million copies, but it wouldn’t be surprising if that total is even higher now.

Nevertheless, with Pragmata out in the coming weeks, the company could be gearing up for another smash hit on Steam. It’s available on April 30th and also coming to Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2, after recently going gold.

Community manager Demi revealed this milestone alongside the fact that players have completed over 25 million runs. The scary part is that Mega Crit began tracking this data “a bit after launch,” which means that a “few million” runs haven’t been accounted for. Suffice to say that fans can’t get enough of the game.

As always, however, what’s next? Slay the Spire 2 has only just begun early access, and there’s still no “specific timeline or roadmap” for “high-level content.” However, the development team is working on several features, including quality-of-life for multiplayer, Steam Workshop support, a leaderboard for friends only, an overhaul of the badge/scoring system, balance patches and much more.

Again, no specific timeline on when this will go live, but you can try out the Steam beta branch to test out any changes and new features ahead of time (especially frequent updates to the same are planned).

Slay the Spire 2 is currently exclusive to PC via Steam Early Access. Console versions could happen once after early access, but given how the game is one to two years off – a rough estimate, considering Mega Crit will fall back on “when it’s ready” – it’s going to be a while.

Well, it’s happening again in 2026, and it’s Slay the Spire 2’s early access build that’s dominating the charts and its players’ hearts, this time around. With 177,000 players taking on its unique brand of chaotic roguelike on day one, in itself a considerable feat with Marathon dropping on the same day, you must be wondering what has made it so addictive.

Well, we spent a fair bit of time with the game, and came away annoyed that we couldn’t get to play just one more run before we dropped off. That’s a sign of an excellent roguelike, and this one’s vibe is such that every failed run is merely an excuse to get better and come back stronger, while its mechanics that stay true to the original and the addition of multiplayer co-op are a perfect blend of the original game and new twists to its formula.

Let’s dive right into why these facets of the experience work as well as they do, and why you should probably clear your schedule before you sit down with this one.

Mechanically Marvelous

The premise of the game, and the way you play it, have largely remained the same, with the developers dropping three massive acts to take on in early access. The premise is the same. You climb the spire, taking on monsters and improving your skill before taking on the area’s big boss. In a welcome return of one of our favorite parts of the first game, the number of cards you can play is limited only by your energy, which opens up opportunities for some great synergies right off the bat. It even allows for more options between turns, with each hand you’re given requiring the ability to improvise on the go.

Turn-based titles often have you waiting between turns before you get to execute a strategy, which is often annoying, although we understand that it’s a matter of balancing things out. Slay the Spire 2 leans into the chaos that playing multiple cards in a turn can bring, while managing to remain quite balanced and even quite challenging, even as early as the first act.

You soon fall into a pattern of thinking at least a few moves ahead, a tactical undertone to each of your decisions that stays with you long after you finish a combat encounter. What could you have done differently? Was using that specific combination of cards the right thing to do at that moment? If only a card you needed to pull off something spectacular had come along a tad sooner. These are all thoughts that come to you quite early on in the experience, and it only gets better from there.

Like its predecessor, the cards are quite varied, which works well with both new and returning characters, whose unique abilities add even more ways to use basic ones to great effect in the heat of battle. It’s a gameplay loop that doesn’t stop tickling your curiosity, and every run feels so unpredictable, with adapting your strategy on the fly being a crucial part of success.

In addition to the game’s RNG keeping you on your toes, the ability to select between two different world states, each with its own enemies and challenges before each run, adds to that feeling of unpredictability. Slay the Spire 2 might not reinvent the wheel when it comes to the core gameplay, but staying faithful to what made the original do so well is quite a smart move. There’s more of it to play even in early access, and more on the way, which is excellent news for the game.

It’s both familiar enough to be welcoming to veterans and fresh enough to be compelling to newcomers. It’s honestly hard to put this one down once you pick it up, and you keep thinking about it when you aren’t playing it. And there’s a solid reason for that: the addition of multiplayer co-op.

Multiplayer Mayhem

The chance to team up and take on whatever the Spire threw at us is a masterstroke in our opinion. It meant a multitude of potential synergies to find and utilize. That took combat to a whole new level, as the mayhem was now multiplied alongside the scope for pulling off some truly memorable feats, with successive turns between teammates becoming a matter of carefully considering our available moves and how best to use them.

We worried that it could make things too easy going in, but we were wrong. The difficulty is its own subject (more on that soon), but playing as a team didn’t make things harder. Instead, it made the game more interesting. We found new ways to use familiar cards, and finding new ones often had us wondering about how they would work with other ones that we had come to favor in our runs. The multiplayer-specific cards were a fine touch, and we can’t wait to find more of them and then hash out ways to maximize their utility in the field.

We found ourselves having actual conversations about specific cards and their uses outside of the game, a facet that takes its value well beyond the time you spend climbing spires to a social bonding activity that can have you spending hours on it. It’s the perfect game to play on evenings where there’s nothing to do, and it’s a perfectly valid excuse to blow off other activities in its favor. The spire beckoned almost constantly, and it was hard not to answer as often as we could over the course of the day.

The addition of multiplayer is a great way to take the game’s formula and organically scale it up to a point where its tendency for chaotic runs and intense situations feels like a natural extension of what a solo run entails. They’re both equally viable ways to enjoy the game, and that’s probably among the reasons it’s become so appealing to so many players in such a short timeframe. But its mechanics and multiplayer are only parts of that success.

Stepping Stones To Success

We now come to what we believe is the most important reason for Spire 2’s success. It’s difficult enough that you fail runs quite often, summarily dispatched back to the bottom of the spire before you use all the money and cards you’ve earned to formulate a better plan of action for your next run.

The game’s RNG works to make that plan go awry, leaving you to adapt and overcome one hard enemy only to find another that’s beyond you, making you rinse and repeat. That’s why we mentioned the game’s difficulty earlier. It could be perceived as a frustrating head-scratcher that could induce player fatigue early on, but that’s far from the case,

But instead, it works to be energizing, motivating you to think about what went wrong and try to prepare a plan that lets you get past your last obstacle while having enough in your tank to take on new ones. And when your revised plan fails, you simply reinvent and come back for more. It makes each run feel like its own contained story, set within the framework of the game’s overall premise in a way that makes it all entertaining instead of draining.

It’s a loop of adapting strategies to come out on top, made even better by the fact that you’re building on the fly with what you’re able to gather, aside from fixed tools you take with you. It’s that spirit of constant innovation, making discovering new strategies a natural part of exploring the world, that has given Slay the Spire 2 such a unique and addictive vibe.

The Early Days Of A Legend

The fact that what we’ve been playing is an early access build of the game has constantly gnawed at us as we kept playing it, making us wonder about the new content that’s on the way. Can the game manage to sustain the momentum it has managed to achieve as it shifts and evolves into its final build?

We’d answer yes. Slay the Spire 2 is addictive because it has been designed to be, with its exploration and combat feeding off of each other to keep you very invested in each run. Being sent back to the bottom of a spire isn’t a reason to call it a day; it’s a reason to stay up later than your usual bedtime, and that is its biggest strength.

But of course, you don’t have to believe us. But the 248,000 players who are currently playing it at the time of writing should tell you that this one’s definitely worth checking out.

Now, excuse us while we join them and take on the unknown yet again in an adventure where each run is like none of the others that came before it.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Besides completely beating out the first game, it’s also far ahead of FromSoftware’s Elden Ring Nightreign, which previously held the crown for biggest rogue-like on the platform at 313,593 peak concurrent players. Keep in mind that was the full release while Slay the Spire 2 is in early access (and will remain so for at least the next one or two years).

Other notable titles that’s beaten by a wide margin include Megabonk (117,336), Don’t Starve Together (115,925) and Hades 2 (112,947). Considering that Slay the Spire 1 managed to sell over 1.5 million copies months after its 1.0 release, you have to wonder what sales are like for the sequel.

Slay the Spire 2 is currently exclusive to PC, and offers five playable characters including two new additions – The Necrobinder and The Regent. Much like the original, players venture through the nightmarish Spire, choosing paths and building their deck to take on greater challenges. It also supports co-op for up to four players. Mega Crit hasn’t yet provided a roadmap of what’s to come so stay tuned for updates.

Comparatively, the original Slay the Spire peaked at 57,025, which was last December when the first gameplay footage of the sequel debuted. Granted, when it first debuted in early access, the IP was practically unknown, resulting in a very low peak concurrent count. Positive word of mouth ultimately led it to over 1.5 million sales shortly after its 1.0 launch.

As for Slay the Spire 2, it’s currently only available for PC, and while it’s estimated to stay in early access for one or two years, Mega Crit is more committed to ensuring it “feels great.” Set 1,000 years later, the story sees the Spire reawakening and presenting even more challenges and terrors. You can control five different characters – with the Ironclad, Silent and Defect returning from the first game.

Besides offering new cards, Relics, and whatnot, this marks the debut of co-op for the series (complete with accompanying cards). Four players can team together to tackle the Spire and succeed or die trying.

The other big new detail is co-op. You can play alongside up to three other players to challenge the Spire, which has only grown more dangerous since lying dormant for 1,000 years. You can leverage different synergies between teammates and even discover cards exclusive to multiplayer. There are five characters to select from, with two being brand new to the series, and each has unique abilities and cards to leverage.

Early access is only the beginning, though, and as hinted at in the latest trailer, another new character is likely on the way. While Mega Crit Games didn’t provide a price point or roadmap, it has confirmed that there will be even more content, modes, bug fixes, and balance adjustments over the course of early access.

As for how long it will remain, the current goal is “Until the game feels great!” The current estimate is one to two years, but as always, plans can change.

Taking the stage at The Game Awards, the developer showcased another trailer for Slay the Spire 2, this time debuting gameplay footage for the roguelike title. Different card, enemies, combat mechanics, and more are showcased, while the game’s gorgeous, stylized aesthetic is also on full display. Check out the full trailer below. 

Slay the Spire 2 is due to release in early access for Steam sometime in early 2025, with a specific launch date currently unknown. Stay tuned for more details on the title in the coming weeks and months. 

While it allows for “modern features, all-new visuals, and expanding moddability,” Mega Crit previously criticized Unity’s controversial install-fee measures. Despite the “immense amount of time and effort” the team had spent on its new title, it threatened to shift to a new engine unless the “changes are completely reverted, and TOS protections are put in place.”

Unity eventually backtracked, with CEO John Riccitiello resigning, but it seems Mega Crit moved to a new engine anyway. Of course, the title is Slay the Spire 2, and the rest is history.

How the sequel will leverage Godot to expand its modding capabilities remains to be seen, but it also promised “new ways to play”, which “aren’t yet announced.” Stay tuned for more updates, especially in the coming year when more details about early access are revealed.

Its Steam listing reveals that civilization has awaited a millennium for the Spire to reopen. New slayers will be playable with unique decks and mechanics (though classics like the Ironclad and Silent are returning). There are new enemies, events and treasures to discover, and as with the first game, multiple Acts, each with a boss waiting to overcome.

While promising “new ways to play” but noting that they “aren’t yet announced,” Slay the Spire 2 is developed from the ground up on a new engine. It allows for “modern features, all-new visuals, and expanding moddability.” Since the first game benefited from launching in early access, the sequel is taking the same approach.

Slay the Spire is available for PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, iOS, and Android. It reached 1.5 million copies sold less than two months after leaving early access and inspired an entire generation of rogue-like deckbuilders. Stay tuned for more details on the sequel and its early access launch in the coming year.