Dragon’s Dogma 2 Is Already Breaking Records

22.03.2024 - 12:17 / gamerant.com / Pam K Ferdinand

Capcom’s single-player action RPG Dragon’s Dogma 2 is already breaking records on its official launch day, March 22, with the concurrent number of Steam players hitting impressive numbers. The game had been steadily garnering attention as release day approached, thanks to several promising previews and trailers, and the overwhelmingly positive reviews Dragon’s Dogma 2 received only confirmed that players were justified in their growing excitement.

The sequel to the 2012 game that spawned a free-to-play MMORPG and an original Netflix anime series, Dragon’s Dogma 2 seems to be a bigger and grander version of its predecessor. The game boasts a world four times larger than that of the first game, as well as over 1,000 NPCs, dynamic world events, and no clearly defined path for how to tackle things. It’s a deep and immersive RPG that is reminiscent of gaming days of yore, and it seems that this kind of freedom and exploration is exactly what many gamers were yearning for.

At the time of writing, Dragon’s Dogma 2 has reached a peak of 184,724 concurrent players on Steam, a number that has broken Capcom’s record for peak concurrent users in a paid single-player game. Previously, that position was held by the Resident Evil 4 remake with 168,191. Dragon’s Dogma 2 is also the first Capcom game to be priced at $70, which some thought might impact its success, but that clearly hasn’t stopped gamers from checking it out in droves.

In Dragon’s Dogma 2, players take on the role of the Arisen, who must defeat the dragon that stole their heart while also defeating a false Arisen who has taken power in Vermund. Prior to release, Capcom made the Dragon’s Dogma 2 character creator available so that players could make their unique version of the Arisen and be ready to go on launch day, and the tool’s robustness only further increased anticipation for the game’s full release.

It hasn’t been all roses for the newly released RPG, however. While reaching record-breaking concurrent player numbers on Steam, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is also getting review bombed on the Valve-owned platform. Reviewers were informed that there would be microtransactions after launch, and there are now 21 DLCs available for purchase, which some players find unacceptable in a single-player game.

Many gamers are also experiencing performance issues, due in part to the over 1,000 NPCs in Dragon’s Dogma 2 straining even high-end hardware. Other people are unhappy with the fact that there is only a single save slot, meaning there’s no safety net for mistakes or bad decisions. However, that seems in keeping with the developer’s desire to make the game as immersive and realistic as possible. And despite the negatives, the game’s rating on Steam seems to be steadily