Palworld helped Xbox achieve its biggest month EVER for total playtime

Xbox had its biggest month ever, January, when it comes to total playtime, thanks in part to the huge success of Palworld. While Microsoft didn’t reveal specific numbers, they did announce that Palworld, an Xbox Game Preview title by Pocket Pair, aka ‘Pokemon with guns’ (unofficially), has already surpassed 10 million players on Xbox.

Released in mid-January, Palworld quickly became a phenomenon despite not having a full month to contribute to Xbox’s record-breaking January. The game is currently exclusive to Xbox consoles and Windows devices. Palworld became the biggest-ever 3rd-party launch on Xbox Game Pass and crossed 25m players within a month.

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!). 

In the same announcement, Microsoft also mentioned that Xbox is committed to supporting independent developers, with over 3500 games from independent developers in more than 100 countries currently developing for Xbox and Windows.

Xbox offers various programs to help creators reach players. These include the open pitch portal and the Indie Selects program.

The open pitch portal allows developers to submit their games for consideration for Game Pass and the Developer Acceleration Program. Since its launch in August, hundreds of studios have used the portal.

Xbox is also working to improve game discoverability for players who don’t follow gaming news closely. The Indie Selects designation helps these players find high-quality indie games endorsed by Xbox staff.

Looking to expand its developer base, Xbox is focusing on under-represented regions like Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. There are currently over 100 games in development for Xbox consoles from these regions through the ID@Xbox program.

More here.