After a long wait, Slay the Spire 2 has finally arrived in early access on Steam—and it’s already putting up blockbuster numbers that most games can only dream of.
The sequel was first revealed in April 2024, with an initial goal of launching in early access sometime in 2025. That timeline didn’t hold, though. The developers decided the game needed more time in the oven, pushing the early access debut to 2026 so they could polish and refine the experience before letting players in. Now that it’s live, the payoff is clear: the early response has been massive.
Just a few hours after release, Slay the Spire 2 surged past 175,000 concurrent players on Steam, according to SteamDB tracking. That’s an eye-catching milestone for any launch, but it’s especially impressive for an early access title. To put it in perspective, the original Slay the Spire hit a peak of 57,025 concurrent players recently—meaning the sequel has already tripled that peak in a matter of hours.
Player feedback is also off to a strong start. While the game is still very new and only has around 487 Steam user reviews so far, the early tone is overwhelmingly positive, with 93% marked as favorable. With the player count climbing quickly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Slay the Spire 2 break the 200,000 concurrent player mark as momentum continues to build.
If you’re thinking about jumping in right away, it’s worth remembering what “early access” really means. This version is meant to get the game into players’ hands sooner, but it also comes with the usual early access caveats: bugs, glitches, balance issues, and features that may not yet feel fully finished. The upside is that your feedback can actively help shape the game’s future as the developers refine systems, fix problems, and tune mechanics based on real player data.
The developers have indicated that Slay the Spire 2 could remain in early access for one to two years. During that time, the plan is to steadily expand the game with more content and improvements, including new gameplay additions, extra cards, fresh modes, and other features rolled out over time. For fans of roguelike deckbuilders—and especially anyone who spent countless runs climbing the original Spire—this early access launch looks like the beginning of a very big next chapter.
