Megabonk beats Hades 2’s all-time record as it morphs into Steam’s new indie sensation

The roguelike indie scene is crowded with heated competition in 2025. Out of nowhere, solo developer Vedinad dropped a roguelike reverse bullet hell blockbuster Megabonk, coinciding with Hades 2’s release window. 

Megabonk has sold an estimated 1.3 million units, turning the seemingly pixelated and rustic-looking 3D reverse bullet hell shooter into an overnight sensation. The game’s progression loop, with a plethora of weapons, tomes, items, and unlockables, keeps players glued to their screens.

Megabonk’s respectable, solid early reception has exploded into virality, as Megabonk’s all-time concurrent player count reached 117,336 on October 5, even eclipsing Hades 2’s all-time high of 112,947 from September 28 on PC via Steam.

To put things into perspective, the indie game that defined the reverse bullet hell genre, Vampire Survivors, peaked at 77,061 concurrent players 3.7 years ago. Furthermore, Megabonk has made it into Steam’s top ten most-played games repeatedly over the past week, overlooking Hades 2, Path of Exile 2, Warframe, and Dead by Daylight. 

Even considering Hades 2’s availability on other platforms, unlike Megabonk’s Steam exclusivity, the raw numbers clearly show Valve’s storefront favoritism towards the underdog indie sensation.

Megabonk currently averages 100,000 players daily on Steam, while Hades 2 averaged 80,000 players from October 2 to October 5, but declined to an average of 55,000 players in the same period.

Megabonk currently has 23,000 reviews on Steam, giving the game a 92% rating, yet Hades II remains one of the top-reviewed titles on Steam with a 93% user score out of 81,000 reviews.

The 3D reverse bullet hell indie hit’s virality mirrors a banner year for indie titles storming Steam charts. But it wouldn’t be fair to compare Hades 2’s deep storytelling, intricate roguelike mechanics, and multiple branching, yet engaging dialogue trees to Megabonk’s goofy and zany character roster, yet charming gameplay.

Despite the overwhelming roster of characters, items, and unlockable abilities, Megabonk is currently in infancy, as the game only features two maps, Forest and Desert, each with three difficulty tiers. 

Vedinad has promised content updates in the future, alongside the addition of multiplayer, which will definitely continue to bolster the game’s engagement in the coming year.