Skip to main content

Fall Guys shoots up Steam, Twitch popularity rankings despite server issues

Free-for-all multiplayer game Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout continues its early success on Steam and Twitch despite server issues caused by massive player counts.

The Fall Guys launch was marred with overloaded servers, resulting in review-bombing on Steam that was reversed by players in a show of support for the game. Developer Mediatonic, through the game’s official Twitter account, said that Fall Guys had more than 1.5 million players in its first 24 hours, and that it was working on a patch to fix bugs and connection issues.

Related Videos

The launch issues, however, continued, with a notice on Fall Guys’ Steam page that reads, “We underestimated the number of jellybeans in the jar. We’re working hard to increase server capacity but please be aware that matchmaking may be up and down during the launch window.”

Mediatonic also issued an apology for the persistent problems.

We're super grateful for your patience, and we can't thank you enough for supporting us through these launch issues.

Once everything is back online, we'll be working on extra rewards for you all to show our appreciation. ????

We will post news here as soon as its available!

— Fall Guys ???? (@FallGuysGame) August 8, 2020

Apparently, these issues were not enough to drive players away from Fall Guys though.

For August 8, as of the time of writing, Fall Guys has reached a peak player count on Steam of 124,772 players, behind only mainstays Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, DOTA 2, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. The game, meanwhile, has leapfrogged Grand Theft Auto V and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege.

Meanwhile, on Twitch, Fall Guys is the second-most viewed game with 244,000 viewers, coming in behind League of Legends but beating the likes of Grand Theft Auto V, Fortnite, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

Fall Guys launches on PlayStation Plus

The early success of Fall Guys was helped by the game’s PlayStation 4 launch as a free-to-download game for PlayStation Plus subscribers, similar to the 2015 release of Psyonix’s vehicular soccer game Rocket League.

Mediatonic said in an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit that the developer was hoping for Fall Guys to reach the same level of success as Rocket League. It appears that the colorful battle royale game is well on its way to doing that.

Editors' Recommendations

Counter-Strike 2 could succeed where Overwatch 2 failed
Soldiers in Counter-Strike 2 key art.

In 2023's most surprising news so far, Counter-Strike 2 is coming. The competitive shooter isn't just a follow-up to the massively popular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but an upgrade to that game using the new Source 2 engine. A beta is already underway, with the full game scheduled to come sometime this summer. With how Valve is handling the project, I can't help but think of how Blizzard rolled out its own recent shooter sequel: Overwatch 2.

Both games are highly popular, competitive, and live-service style games with a heavy emphasis on cosmetics for monetization that have highly dedicated communities. The biggest similarity -- and also criticism in the case of Overwatch 2 -- is the fact that both sequels retroactively replace their predecessors, forcing everyone to upgrade to the sequel whether they want to or not. This is a relatively new concept in gaming, where older versions of online games become entirely inaccessible and Overwatch 2 didn't inspire a lot of confidence in it being a beneficial trend. That said, Counter-Strike 2 is already in a perfect position to succeed in all the ways Overwatch 2 failed.
If it ain't broke
In normal circumstances, a sequel is a developer's opportunity to iterate and make alterations to the core of the game that came before. Obviously, there's a limit to how big these changes should be -- a shooter shouldn't suddenly become a 2D fighting game -- but a combination of new features being added and old ones being removed is expected. That becomes a much trickier proposition in this new age of sequels where the new version is the only option. In the case of Overwatch 2 and Counter-Strike 2, players don't have the luxury of being able to keep playing the old version they loved.

Read more
As the 3DS eShop closes, devs reflect on a golden age of Nintendo indies
Best Nintendo 3DS games

The 3DS eShop is no longer allowing Nintendo fans to make new game purchases, marking the end of a long era of DS-branded handhelds. Not only that, but it's also sunsetting a vibrant indie community in the process. After helping smaller developers break through with WiiWare and DSiWare, the 3DS eShop was where indies really started to flourish on Nintendo consoles. Multiple games and developers built success stories on the platform, starting series that are still recognized in the eyes of Nintendo fans and stand as some of the 3DS’ most iconic games.

Within a year of the eShop's launch, WayForward's Mighty Switch Force provided one of the system's best 3D experiences, Renegade Kid's Mutant Mudd showed the potential of a platformer where players can hop between the foreground and background, and Hörberg Productions' Gunman Clive provided a short, sweet, and cheap throwback platformer experience with lots of styles. By 2014, Yacht Club Games' Shovel Knight had cemented itself as one of the best indie games of all time on the 3DS. Titles like that gave the 3DS a reputation as a haven for smaller developers. a platform where they could break out of a niche and connect with a larger audience.

Read more
The first proper PS5 deal is here — save $50 on the God of War bundle
The Playstation 5 system standing upright.

After all this time, we've finally seen an actual discount on the Sony PlayStation 5. Over at Best Buy, you can buy the PlayStation 5 God of War Ragnarok bundle for $510 saving you $50 off the usual price of $560. Sure, that's just under 10% off but such deals simply haven't happened before. With stock being so limited in the past, it's huge news to see such a big saving on the PlayStation 5. This is your chance to save or use that money on one of the many PS5 game deals going on. Not entirely sold on the PS5? Let's take a look at what you need to know.

Why you should buy a Sony Playstation 5
The Sony PlayStation 5 is the latest console from Sony and is the main rival to the Xbox Series X. It has a slightly divisive look but there's no denying it looks like a futuristic games console. Crucially, under the hood is some very powerful hardware. It's focused on speed and great performance so that all the best PS5 games look great. With HDR technology, you get vibrant and lifelike images as you play with up to 120 fps with 120Hz output depending on the display you hook it up to. Besides looking good, it also has immersive sound with Tempest 3D AudioTech so it feels like the sound is coming from every direction.

Read more