What to know
- Mewgenics has hit record Steam concurrent player numbers for a roguelike genre release.
- It sold hundreds of thousands of copies in days and recouped development costs quickly.
- Hades II still enjoys higher critical legacy and acclaim.
- Popularity peaks don’t automatically define “best” across design or cultural impact.
In the days since its February 10 release, Mewgenics, a tactical roguelike from Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel, hasn’t just drawn buzz — it has rewritten some measurable engagement records on Steam. According to SteamDB tracking, Mewgenics reached a peak of roughly 115,428 concurrent players on Steam shortly after launch, narrowly surpassing Hades II’s all-time peak of 112,947 concurrent players, which was set in late September 2025. This milestone marks Mewgenics as the most-played roguelike (by peak concurrency) in Steam’s history, at least among titles classified in the genre.
That shift is remarkable for a strategic, turn-based game — especially in a category often dominated by action-oriented roguelikes — and it reflects intense early interest. The concurrent peak means that, at its busiest moment on PC, more players were simultaneously active in Mewgenics than in Hades II’s busiest moment. But it’s important to unpack what those numbers do and don’t imply.
Concurrent player counts are a snapshot of momentary engagement on a specific platform. They signal interest and hype, but they don’t fully capture long-term playtime, community size across all platforms, or cultural impact over time. Hades II’s record was built not just on PC but through its presence on other platforms like Nintendo Switch and its long early-access run before full launch, factors that naturally spread its player base and likely softened the peak-day surge that shows up on Steam databases.
Moreover, peak concurrent figures don’t tell us how many people owned or played a game overall, nor how many stayed invested deep into endgame content. They’re a useful metric for comparing launch momentum but not a definitive measure of design quality or long-term player satisfaction.
In other measurable ways, Mewgenics’ performance has been striking. Beyond breaking the raw Steam peak, it recouped its development budget within just a handful of hours of going live and has clocked hundreds of thousands of sales in its opening days, underscoring both commercial viability and community excitement. Early player ratings and critical responses also skew positive, reflecting broad satisfaction with its unique blend of tactical depth and procedural progression.
However, judging whether Mewgenics has “beaten” Hades II overall depends on the criteria you use. If the bar is set purely at one platform’s concurrent peak, then Mewgenics has achieved a noteworthy record that even Hades II couldn’t hold indefinitely.
If the bar includes sustained engagement, artistic legacy, multi-platform reach, and the enduring conversations that shape a genre’s evolution, then the conversation remains open. Hades II continues to be widely praised for its narrative integration, fluid action combat, music, and art, and it won multiple awards in 2025 that reflect those strengths.
In practical terms, what’s happened so far is clear: Mewgenics surged out of the gate with a level of peak engagement that eclipsed Hades II on Steam, making it arguably the most-played roguelike at a single moment in time on that platform. Whether that translates into a lasting legacy or reshapes the genre’s hierarchy is something only time — and how both games engage their communities over the long run — will fully reveal.
About Mewgenics
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Developer | Team Meat |
| Lead Designer | Edmund McMillen |
| Genre | Tactical Roguelike, Life Simulation |
| Release Date | February 10, 2026 |
| Platform (Launch) | PC (Steam) |
| Combat Style | Turn-based, Grid-based Tactical Battles |
| Core System | Cat breeding with genetic inheritance |
| Progression | Roguelike runs with long-term bloodline growth |
| Content Scope | Dozens of classes, hundreds of abilities, 900+ items |
| Future Plans | Console ports confirmed, DLC in development |
Mewgenics stands out for merging strategy depth with chaotic genetic experimentation, delivering a darkly comedic yet mechanically rich experience that rewards both careful planning and creative risk-taking.
