PC-exclusive digital distribution platform Steam continues to see massive growth. According to SteamDB, it managed to get 43,505,724 concurrent users on October 11th. This has broken the previous record from earlier this year, which saw more than 42 million users online at the same time.
At the time of publishing, SteamDB reports that there are more than 36 million users online on the platform right now.
When taking a longer view of Steam’s user numbers, growth on the platform has been gradual and consistent, especially following the COVID-19-induced lockdowns from back in 2020. While the platform would still manage to get consistent users that almost hit 20 million on some occasions, the lockdowns truly seemed to have started the trend of month-over-month growth.
While the early days of 2020 saw an all-time peak of over 24 million users for the year, this would eventually get dwarfed, and by early 2021, Steam had managed to get more than 26 million users online at the same time. The trajectory has consistently moved upwards since then, with the 40 million barrier first getting broken in March 2025.
Since then, Steam has managed to garner a consistent user base that, however, has been between 35 million and 42 million, with this weekend marking the first time that the platform broke previous records.
While there are likely a number of factors that have contributed to this consistent user base growth for Steam, Valve’s own efforts in bringing in continuous improvements have likely helped as well. This, along with the company’s hardware efforts like Steam Deck and Steam Machine, may have also played a role. However, the latter likely suffered quite a bit due to its high price tag owing to a global memory shortage that has affected prices for just about every computer in the world.
As for what kinds of games these Steam users are spending their time with, much of the top 10 list is dominated by free-to-play multiplayer titles like Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, PUBG: Battlegrounds, and Apex Legends. Interestingly, Deadlock – a game that Valve has neither officially unveiled nor made available to play outside of invite codes – is also sitting in the top 10, with more than 104,000 concurrent players at the time of publishing, and an all-time peak of 262,145 players.
There are also plenty of indie games being played on Steam right now, with the chart featuring titles like WARDOGS, Slay the Spire 2, Valheim, and Stardew Valley. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered is also present, with its player base likely being bolstered by the recent release of the Remastered update.
As for premium games, ARC Raiders, The Outlast Trials, Grand Theft Auto 5 Enhanced, and EA Sports FC 27 are all on the charts. While there is a mix of older and newer titles throughout the list, Dragon’s Dogma 2, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Street Fighter 6 are all showing impressive player numbers, likely thanks to Capcom’s continuous support of these games. Dragon’s Dogma 2 just got its major expansion – Dark Arisen – which has been received quite positively by players and critics alike.
