Update (9/11/2024): Saber Interactive CEO Tim Willits said he and publishing head Todd Hollensaid believe Space Marine II is “the fastest-selling game we’ve ever worked on.”
Willits and Hollenshead both previously worked at id Software, and the former underlined this by saying the game has outpaced “all the Quake, Doom, Wolfenstein, and Rage games over the years.”
For some comparison, Doom Eternal reportedly had the franchise’s best-ever opening sales weekend when it released in 2020.
Hollenshead backed up Willits’ statement by saying Space Marine II was “hella fun! Come get some.”
Original story: Saber Interactive’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II has opened to 2 million players a day after its official release.
The “incredible milestone” spans the game’s release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Premium editions of the game offered four-day Early Access ahead of its standard launch. It’s currently unclear how that player count has translated into sales.
How did Space Marine II get here?
Warhammer games release at a steady cadence, often between two-four titles per year. Space Marine II (a sequel to Relic’s 2011 cult classic) marks the second Warhammer title to launch in 2024, and is one of publisher Focus Entertainment’s major releases this year.
IGN noted that Space Marine II appears to be taking off on Steam. It opened to 225,690 concurrent players, making it the platform’s most-played Warhammer title (40K or otherwise) ahead of Total War: Warhammer 3’s peak of 166,754 players.
While Saber and Focus didn’t break down specifics of Space Marine II’s player count, the Early Access launch likely played a hand in things.
Triple-A games have used Early Access as a pre-order incentive for years, and publishers are typically quiet on how it impacts sales. EA is an exception, since it had no problem touting EA Sports College Football 25’s 2.2 million Early Access players in July.