Survivor horror sequel Sons of the Forest has quickly climbed to the top of Twitch as the most-watched game on the platform. After crashing the digital distribution platform Steam, Sons of the Forest sits at more than 500,000 concurrent viewers only hours after release.
Sons of the Forest is a follow-up to the original survivor horror title, The Forest, developed by Endnight Games in May 2014. This long-awaited sequel sees players assume the role of a survivor on a cannibal-infested island. While fighting off nightmarish creatures, players will be forced to craft, build, and even align with fellow people on the island just to survive.
After becoming available, Sons of the Forest saw a meteoric rise to the top of Steam’s top sellers list, swiftly beating the recently released Company of Heroes, Atomic Heart, and Hogwarts Legacy. Moments after the game’s release, though, many Steam users were immediately struck with error messages as the game’s popularity crashed Steam.
While many streamers vented their frustration about being unable to purchase or access Sons of the Forest, those lucky enough to obtain a copy have found themselves at the top of Twitch. Within the hour, Sons of the Forest became the most-viewed category on the streaming service as some of the platform’s most popular streamers began playing title.
Shroud currently has the most concurrent viewers upon launch, with more than 32,000 watching the FPS player venture through the cannibal island. CohhCarnage, LIRIK, and countless others have similarly seen massive spikes in viewership thanks to the game’s immense popularity.
Whether or not Sons of the Forest is able to maintain its popularity among streamers remains to be seen, but for now, the horror survivor game is king.
