Palworld Publisher on Slay the Spire 2's Success — 'Why Is Anyone Surprised?'

With Slay the Spire 2's concurrency chart making mainstream headlines, industry voices lined up to nod sagely — and none did it more pointedly than Pocketpair's communications and publishing lead Bucky, of Palworld fame.

His take, delivered on social media as the sequel's peak blew past 500,000: the success wasn't surprising at all. "The real surprise is that so many people are surprised," he wrote — the argument being that the original Slay the Spire's influence and goodwill had been compounding for seven years, and a sequel done right was always going to land like this.

The timing made the comment sting for bigger names. The spire's launch numbers had already sprinted past heavyweight 2026 releases — including Elden Ring offshoot Nightreign's Steam peaks — and the roguelike-category concurrent record now belonged to a $30 indie deckbuilder. When an indie-publisher voice famous for its own surprise mega-hit calls your mega-hit inevitable, the market has officially re-rated your franchise.

It also captured why the launch resonated beyond the fanbase: Slay the Spire 2 wasn't riding a license or a live-service hook — it was pure product, seven years in the making, meeting an audience its own genre had grown. Inevitable, in hindsight. Steam's all-time top-twenty 570K peak agreed.

Keep reading:

• Peak Reaches 570,000
• Launch Day: 95% Positive