Steam has broken its own record for concurrent users, registering 18,801,944 players earlier this week across the platform.
The record-breaking numbers were clocked at 14.20 UK time and smashed the previous record, set in January 2018, of 18,537,490 concurrent users (via PCGN / Steam Database).
It’s particularly interesting to see Steam break this record at the moment, given the relatively recent arrival of the Epic Games Store, intended to rival Steam. This particular competitor didn’t exist back in January of 2018, but seemingly hasn’t stood in the way of Steam attracting more gamers and setting a new record.
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.@Steam has broken its record for most concurrently online users that was held for two years. Previous record was 18,537,490 users. It's still increasing!
But there's about 1 million less players actually in-game (≈5.8mil vs ≈7mil two years ago).https://t.co/D6WDHbz0B4
— Steam Database (@SteamDB) February 2, 2020
However, there is one caveat to Steam’s record-breaking day. There were, at that time, less users actually in game than there were when the previous record was set.
Back in January 2018 there was, at one point, upwards of seven million gamers actually playing a game on Steam, Meanwhile, when the new record was set, only five-point-nine million were actually in-game.
Steam Database doesn’t provide any info on what players are actually doing, so we can’t fully account for the huge numbers of gamers who went online yesterday. However, the platform’s most popular game at the moment is Counter Strike: Global Offensive, from way back in 2012.
When our reviewer got his hands on Counter Strike: Global Offensive, he commended the addictive gameplay and the all-new game modes. However, the game really hasn’t done much to change the formula from Counter Strike: Source from way back in 2005. The visuals are a little behind the times too, though this does make the game accessible to those with less high-end PCs.
If that sounds a bit old hat, Steam’s hugely popular library also offers PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, which remains one of the most played games on Steam at the time o writing.
It’s a third-person shooter in the hugely popular Battle Royale format. Prepare to come up against human players across a huge map, while you struggle to find basic weapons and armour for your character and overcome unpredictable foes.
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Image Credit: SteamCharts.com
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
