Free-to-play multiplayer shooter Once Human has reached a major milestone one month after its global launch. NetEase’s survival game continues to perform well on Steam.
Once Human has been downloaded by more than 10 million players globally, according to NetEase. It is unclear how installs are split between countries.
The company also noted that it will “stay true to its no pay-to-win approach, ensuring that all players have a fair and enjoyable gaming experience.”
Launched on July 9, Once Human debuted at #8 on Steam’s Weekly Global Top Sellers. NetEase added that the game also topped the charts in the US, Germany, France, Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, and several other countries.
After peaking at over 231k concurrent players, Once Human remained in the top 10 most played titles on Steam daily. This also makes it the 5th biggest launch of 2024 in terms of peak CCU, right between Last Epoch (264.8k CCU) and Dragon’s Dogma 2 (228.5k CCU).
- Palworld — 2.1 million CCU
- Helldivers 2 — 458.7k CCU
- The First Descendant (free-to-play) — 264.8k CCU
- Last Epoch — 264.7k CCU
- Once Human (free-to-play) — 231.6k CCU
- Dragon’s Dogma 2 — 228.5 CCU
- Content Warning — 204.4k CCU (reached its peak while being free-to-keep in the first 24 hours after launch)
- Manor Lords — 173.1k CCU
- Enshrouded — 160.4k CCU
- 7 Days to Die — 125.4k CCU
Although its free-to-play rival The First Descendant had a higher start (264.8k CCU), Once Human shows a stronger retention. In the last 30 days, NetEase’s game attracted 128.2k concurrent players on average, while Nexon’s shooter dropped to the average CCU of 77.9k.
CCU charts: Once Human (top) vs The First Descendant (bottom)
Once Human was developed by NetEase’s subsidiary Starry Studio, with its team including over 300 people. Despite a mixed reception at launch due to confusion over its terms of service, the game’s rating has since improved to “Mostly Positive” (72% based on 74.2k user reviews).
Right now, the devs are also preparing Once Human’s launch on iOS and Android, which will also add crossplay to the game. The mobile release is scheduled for September.