Once again, Steam shows why it’s the most popular platform in the PC gaming market. According to the Steam statistical data analyst SteamDB, the platform has just broken its concurrent player base record once again. Approximately 27.9 million users were logged onto Steam this past Sunday, January 2, destroying the previous record of 26.9 million. Whether it was playing a video game or going through their library/store, for one specific time frame on that Sunday, Steam had it’s highest ever used count.
While this wouldn’t normally be something to note, one of the main reasons as to why this is so impressive is due to the previous record. That 26.9 million player base number was achieved just this past year in March 2021, meaning that Steam broke their own record in less than a 12-month span, an insane achievement. The main factor for this is more than likely due to the worldwide effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic, which is continuing to change and evolve over time. This has resulted in more people staying at home, which in turn causes more people to potentially play video games. It also helps that Steam is currently running its annual Steam Winter Sale in which hundreds of thousands of titles all have a special discount.
During this record-breaking day the most played titles were mostly, no surprise, multiplayer ones. This includes heavy hitters such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, Apex Legends, Rust, Grand Theft Auto Online, Destiny 2, ARK: Survival Evolved, and Final Fantasy XIV. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive had the most players on that day with a whopping 824,298, with Dota 2 coming in at a distant second with 748,189. Either way you look at it, Steam is still the most dominant player in the PC gaming market. They also have their highly anticipated Steam Deck releasing later this year, which will more than likely further their reach into the home console/portable market.