Digital gaming platform Steam made history yesterday by breaking their record for concurrent players. Usage has been growing steadily over the last few years as more and more games become available through their service.
The record was previously just a little over 14 million users, with Dota 2 being the top performer. January 7 shattered that record with about 18.3 million concurrent users.
It was none other than PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds that pushed them over the top. The massively popular online multiplayer game almost always carries the most users, pushing Dota 2 down to the second spot. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, or PUBG, has peaked at about 3 million simultaneous users, also breaking Dota 2’s record of 1.5 million concurrent users.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Grand Theft Auto V, and Team Fortress 2 round out the top five, but none of them come close to those kinds of numbers.
It was impossible to discuss gaming last year without discussing PUBG. The meteoric rise of the game from a small team of independent developers has seen it through Steam Early access to a multi-platform release. It is now available on the Xbox One, and there are rumors that PlayStation 4 won’t be far behind. PUBG has sold over 20 million copies in less than a year since its release.
You can check out user stats and a full list of the most popular games on Steam.