Analysts say Slay the Spire 2 is the best-performing deckbuilder of all time—and the competition isn't close

Analysts say Slay the Spire 2 is the best-performing deckbuilder of all time—and the competition isn’t close | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these Card Game ‘Even though I threw out my back from overworking, I’m feeling high in spirits’: Slay the Spire 2 sold 3 million copies in its first week Card Game Slay the Spire 2 dev compared it to unexciting ‘chicken noodle soup’ before its extraordinary launch, but it turns out people really, really like their soup Card Game Slay the Spire gets the best Christmas present a deckbuilder could ask for: a new all-time concurrent player peak on Steam nearly 7 years after release Card Game Slay the Spire 2 is the #1 seller on Steam, above Marathon and Resident Evil Requiem Card Game ‘It’s kind of like you’re a butcher’: Hundreds of Slay the Spire 2 card ideas were cut during development in an ‘incredibly destructive process’ Roguelike Slay the Spire 2 dev celebrates its instant success by reminding players to support ‘small indie passion projects’ like Marathon too Roguelike Is roguelike deckbuilder sequel Slay the Spire 2 worth playing in early access? Roguelike Slay the Spire 2 dev says its Marathon joke turned out ‘a bit meaner than expected’ in hindsight: ‘To be fair I didn’t think we’d actually pass Marathon in concurrent users’ Roguelike Slay the Spire 2 dev hates microtransactions, even though players would definitely pay for them: ‘A lot of our players threaten to buy all and any cosmetics we may ever release’ Roguelike Slay the Spire 2 is one of the year’s biggest hits, which is a good time to remember it abandoned Unity because of the dev fee debacle: ‘That is how badly you f****d up’ Roguelike After beating Slay the Spire 2 with an 8 year old deck, I’m starting to feel like this is more of a remake than a sequel Roguelike The devs of a promising Slay the Spire-alike are delaying their game to Dodge and Roll away from Slay the Spire 2’s launch: ‘You’ll be playing it, we’ll be playing it, everyone will be playing it’ Card Game Surprise: Slay the Spire 2 is bringing 4-player co-op when it hits early access on March 6 Roguelike Slay the Spire 2 players leave over 9,000 negative Steam reviews in one day over a card nerf that hasn’t even gone live yet—but China’s Steam restrictions might bear some of the blame Card Game Mega Crit responds to the panic over Slay the Spire 2’s 1st balance pass, saying these changes are ‘the first of many’: ‘No change is necessarily permanent’ Popular PC Gamer ClipsCrimson DesertMarathonBest PC gearGDCQuizzes Games Roguelike Slay the Spire 2 Analysts say Slay the Spire 2 is the best-performing deckbuilder of all time—and the competition isn’t close News By Lincoln Carpenter published 24 March 2026 Slay the Spire 2 has been averaging over a million users per day since launch. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Mega Crit) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? 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Signup + Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo’s new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play. Signup + Every Saturday The Watchlist Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Slay the Spire 2 was an immediate success, delivering a top-selling launch day performance. But as more data emerges, it’s become increasingly clear that Slay the Spire 2’s launch is a historic record-setter. According to Newzoo, PC Gamer’s official data partner, StS 2 is the best-performing deckbuilder of all time—and it’s leading by a massive margin.Steam peak concurrent users, while a flawed metric for a game’s ongoing health, provide the clearest image of how Slay the Spire 2 is separated from other card game heavy hitters by orders of magnitude. Balatro peaked at 44,000 concurrent users in January 2025, Slay the Spire 1 at 57,000 in December 2025, and Monster Train 2 at 18,500 shortly after its May 2025 launch. Three days after its early access launch, Slay the Spire 2 peaked at 575,000 concurrents. (Image credit: Mega Crit Games)”That is more than 13 times Balatro’s peak, and this is a $24.99 paid Early Access title with no console version yet. Mega Crit confirmed 3 million copies sold in the first week. At that price point, that implies roughly $75M gross before Valve’s cut,” Newzoo analysts told PC Gamer.Article continues below You may like ‘Even though I threw out my back from overworking, I’m feeling high in spirits’: Slay the Spire 2 sold 3 million copies in its first week Slay the Spire 2 dev compared it to unexciting ‘chick