Stalker 2 is now officially available across multiple platforms including its "day one" release on Xbox Game Pass release, and we've now got some actual data, showing some early signs of how the game is performing.
Although there have been concerns after multiple patches and updates were dropped, new data (via SteamDB) seems to indicate it hasn't been enough to deter stalkers around the globe - with more than 113K players purchasing the paid Steam version of the title at launch. In comparison, EA's recent release Dragon Age: The Veilguard hit 89K on Valve's service at its all-time peak.
These numbers are also well out in front of previous Stalker games on Steam, according to SteamDB. This places it in the current "top 10" most-played games on Steam right now. Perhaps more interestingly, the ratings on Steam for Stalker 2 are currently sitting on "very positive" with more than 5,000 player reviews at the time of writing.
Of course, this is only a sample of the Stalker 2 player base. Given the fact the game is also a "day one" release on Game Pass, there's no doubt a lot of players currently trying the sequel out on Xbox. Keep in mind the experience across platforms could also be different. After all, the Xbox version received multiple patches and updates (some well over 100GB) at the eleventh hour.
As for critic reviews, Stalker 2 seems to have received plenty of decent scores so far, although some accounts have reported a lot of bugs. It's even led to GSC Game World issuing a statement, mentioning how it's committed to fixing these problems.