Palworld helped Xbox have the biggest month for total play time in its history

January was the biggest month in the history of Xbox, when it comes to total play time, Xbox Wire announced, but it didn’t reveal any actual numbers.

Instead, the Microsoft gaming department revealed that Palworld played a big role in achieving this record: the game already has over 10.000.000 players on Xbox, just less than two months after its January release.

It’s also worth mentioning that Palworld was released on January 19, so the game didn’t even have a full month at its disposal to turn January into the most-played month in Xbox’s history.

2024 got off to a fast start with players this year — Xbox had its biggest month ever on console this past January, measured by play time (including ID@Xbox program member Pocket Pair, whose Xbox Game Preview title, Palworld, has more than 10,000,000 players on Xbox so far!). 

Xbox Wire

The game has quickly become a sensation, and it took the gaming industry by storm, while players were delighted by the fun and engaging nature of it. Touted as Pokemons with guns (yes, it sounds hilarious, but it bears a bit of truth), Palworld is a Microsoft-exclusive game, meaning it can only be played on Xbox consoles and Windows devices.

However, PocketPair, the company behind the game is thinking about bringing the game to more consoles in the upcoming months; the company also has no intention of working on AAA games or expanding itself as a studio, explaining that it will be better if they keep making smaller games.

Microsoft has turned Palworld into an important point in their gaming business strategy, and the tech giant even hosted an internal conference with Palworld being displayed everywhere.

To capitalize on its success, Xbox also released several Palworld-themed controllers that can be designed and customized in the Xbox Design Lab.

Xbox Wire also mentions that there are currently over 3500 video games in development all around the world, and it’s also working with independent developers to reach more players worldwide.

With more than 3500 titles from independent developers in more than 100 countries in active development for Xbox and Windows via the ID@Xbox program, we’re always working to help independent developers reach more players, and for players to find the best new games.

Xbox

With so many potential hit games at their hands, it’s safe to say that the record could again be surpassed in the future.

You can read the full blog post here.