Sons of the Forest, the latest survival horror simulator that is a sequel to the 2014 game, The Forest, has created quite the hype since its initial release a couple of weeks back. As reported by Streams Charts, the game’s Early Access has been quite a success since its launch on February 23. According to Rock Paper Shotgun, the popularity of Sons of the Forest's launch resulted in such a large number of players attempting to download it, that it possibly caused Steam's launcher to crash.

Such has been its success that developer Endnight Games announced on Twitter that it had sold over two million copies just 24 hours after its Early Access release while promising exciting things to come.

"Thanks to those who have joined us in our Early Access journey into Sons of the Forest. We have sold over 2 million copies in the first 24 hours, and are very excited for what we have in store for players in the coming weeks."

This open-world title sees players land on a remote island akin to a “cannibal-infested hellscape” to locate a missing billionaire, where they must “craft, build, and struggle to survive, alone or with friends.” The game peaked at a massive 414K concurrent users on Steam and 777K peak viewers on Twitch. One stat that says it all is that the original game, The Forest, had an all-time peak of 76K concurrent viewers.

When Hogwarts Legacy was released to much fanfare in early February, not many would have thought that there would be another game to rival it in terms of popularity and hours played. However, the release of Sons of the Forest has changed the viewership dynamics on platforms like Twitch, although, to be honest, both games have been flying high.

Since its release on February 10, 2023, Hogwarts Legacy has been the 8th most-watched game on the purple platform in terms of Hours Watched. Meanwhile, Sons of the Forest, available in Early Access since February 23, has jumped to an impressive 11th position on the table.

Hogwarts Legacy was perhaps the most talked-about game throughout 2022 until its release last month. On the other hand, Sons of the Forest had a sedate build-up, but lots of players jumped on the bandwagon for its prequel, leading to good word of mouth for it ahead of its Early Access release.

What can be said for sure is that both have been in the news for mostly positive reasons since their respective releases. They have been so incredibly successful over the past month that they have become early frontrunners for the Game of the Year award. If nothing else, we are sure these games will be on the shortlist in 2024.

The fact that Sons of the Forest has outdone games like CS:GO, Apex Legends, Fortnite, Call of Duty, Overwatch 2, and FIFA 23, which have their various esports events going on, is quite a feather in its fledgling cap. The developers will be hoping that it stays this way for a bit longer so they can get the best possible feedback from players and improve on the build further before getting ready for a release in its final state.

Not to forget the fact that an impressive Early Access stage also helps them monetize the game more, and even set a selling price that may exceed what they would initially have agreed upon. Of course, in this regard, the more the number of big gaming content creators play it, the better it will be when the time comes for its final release.

Speaking of streamers, quite a few popular names have been playing Sons of the Forest since it came out. Leading the pack has been the popular German gaming streamer GRONKH, who has accrued 1.61 million Hours Watched on the game, which has been his most preferred streaming activity over the past 30 days.

Following him in second is IlloJuan, the ultra-famous Spanish broadcaster who spends quite a lot of time playing different games. He reached 966K Hours Watched in this period, and interestingly, the last month has seen him play Sons of the Forest and Hogwarts Legacy almost evenly.

In third is Trymacs, another German streamer who totaled 910K Hours Watched for the game since its Early Access release. Again, Sons of the Forest has been the game he’s played the most over the last 30 days, while he’s also been high on Clash Royale and PlateUp!

Other streamers in the top ten of this include Twitch sensations like xQc, Rubius, and alanzoka, showing just why Sons of the Forest has seen such a surge in popularity. Also worth remembering is that these gaming influencers have a big say in which games get nominated and also win at the end-of-the-season award shows. Thus, keeping them engaged and building up goodwill with them could be a long-term gain in terms of notching future accomplishments.

So far, Endnight Games has made all the right moves, and that has helped it reach a stage from where the company can create a compelling final build for Sons of the Forest that not only exceeds the expectations being created via the Early Access but also help it become a  commercial and community success. Who knows, at the end of it all, there could be a glittering trophy labeled Game of the Year waiting for them.