NetEase Games, the Chinese studio behind the massivelypopular hero-shooter Marvel Rivals, has possibly cracked the code to success, or so it seems, after its latest tactical FPS shooter game, FragPunk, managed to place itself at the top of the Steam charts on its launch weekend.
To explain it with an analogy, FragPunk achieved apeak of over 113,000 concurrent playersthis weekend (as noted onSteamDB), quite literally slam-dunking over other free titles out right now, such asDelta Forceand Overwatch 2.
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While many shooters struggle to find a place for themselves inthis oversaturated market, FragPunk has somehow managed to make an explosive entry for itself on the scene. It is undoubtedly still no place near the likes of Counter Strike 2 andValorant, but if it is able to hold its own for quite a while, it might just be able to become NetEase Games second successful title after therelease of Marvel Rivals last December.
To fairly showcase why FragPunk was able to take over this weekend, it is important to understand how its competition has been underperforming. For example, Overwatch 2, a long-running franchise by Blizzard, has seen fluctuating player counts since itscontroversial launch, and Delta Force: Hawk Ops, another fresh shooter, failed to gain the same level of momentum in its initial weekend.
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The game essentially combines the best elements of tactical FPS gameplay and ‘reality-changing’ power-ups to deliver an experience that somehow feels like the perfect mix of Valorant and Call of Duty.
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In a nutshell, FragPunk is anything but simple, and that’s maybe for the better. The5v5 shooter titlefocuses onredefining tactical combat through its Shard Card system, which helps the player bend reality to their will and use different power-ups that make the game more fun.
Officially launched on June 23, 2025,FragPunk is available on PC, with plans for future releases on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S according to thestudio.
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