Recent Day-One Xbox Game Pass Game Is a Big Hit

Core Keeper has surpassed 3 million players, publisher Fireshine Games has announced. Core Keeper hit this impressive milestone less than three weeks after its full-fledged release.

Following nearly 18 months of early access, the 1.0 version of Core Keeper debuted on August 27. Developed by Linköping, Sweden-based studio Pugstorm, Core Keeper is a survival sandbox experience that can be enjoyed solo or in cooperation with up to seven other players.

Core Keeper Celebrates 3 Million Players

Its addictive gameplay loop has so far turned quite a few heads, as underlined by the fact that Core Keeper celebrated 3 million players on September 16, 20 days following its 1.0 release. Publisher Fireshine did not provide a detailed breakdown of this figure by platform. That notwithstanding, seeing how Core Keeper was a day-one Xbox Game Pass release, it is plausible that Microsoft’s subscription service meaningfully contributed to its lifetime player count.

Core Keeper Coming To Even More Platforms Soon

The game has a decent chance of experiencing at least one substantial player count boost in the near future, not least because it is presently only available on PC and the current-generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft. Meanwhile, the PS4, Xbox One, and Switch versions of Core Keeper were delayed back in early August, with Pugstorm initially rescheduling them for September 17. Six days ahead of that target, the developer announced another indefinite delay, saying that it needs more time to ensure that the last-gen versions of its survival sandbox game will live up to player expectations.

The studio promised to share an update on Core Keeper‘s Switch, PS4, and Xbox One availability details in the near future. While the game’s eShop page currently has it listed as launching on October 29, that date is likely a placeholder, not least because the official Core Keeper Twitter account has recently explicitly stated that none of the release dates listed by third-party retailers are final.

And while the work on its last-gen ports carries on, fans and critics alike continue to praise Core Keeper as one of the best co-op games for more than two players in recent memory. The positive buzz surrounding this survival sandbox experience is reflected in its “Mighty” OpenCritic rating, based on an aggregate score of 87 and an 80% reviewer recommendation rate. Core Keeper has also managed to amass many player plaudits since its early access days, as underlined by the fact that it presently boasts nearly 30,000 “Very Positive” user reviews on Steam.