The First Descendant launches with 10 million players in its first week

Nexon's The First Descendant has hit 10 million players within its first week.

The Warframe and Destiny 2-alike launched on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation consoles on July 2. Like those two games, it's a free-to-play sci-fi shooter centered around PvE and a variety of characters with different abilities.

"Thank you all for your tremendous support and love," wrote Nexon. "It means everything to us."

While the developer didn't highlight a standout console, Descendant sports a concurrent player peak of nearly 265,000 players on Steam. It's currently the platform's top-selling game, beating out the Steam Deck, Elden Ring, and Counter-Strike 2.

The early life and times of The First Descendant

Despite its big launch, The First Descendant has faced a mixed reception and has had some stumbles.

In its first few days of release, the game had widespread server issues to the point Nexon apologized and provided all players with in-game rewards. Still, the developer affirmed it would "do our best to bring great experiences" going forward.

More recently, it was accused of lifting in-game icons from Destiny 2 for its own game. Nexon later apologized and said it'd make adjustments to Descendant's icons so it would "reflect the unique identity of our game."

Much like with The Finals, Nexon clearly wants The First Descendant to have a long tail. Time will tell if the shooter can meet those desires.