Steam has, once again, broken its own record for the most people using the platform at one time.
Concurrent Steam Users Top 26 Million
Steam has just updated its Steam Stats page. Here, we can see that the popular game marketplace and streaming service has smashed through its previous “concurrent users” record with almost 26.5 million players online at once.
This is a “peak” value, meaning that it was the highest recorded statistic within a 24-hour period. The Steam Stats page is constantly updating, giving Steam users the opportunity to see how many people are online at any time, day or night. The site shows stats for a rolling 48-hour period.
You should note that this figure relates to how many people Steam has logged in, not how many people are gaming. Those come under “active users” and, at the same time Steam set this record, 7.2 of those 26.5 million people were busy playing their favorite titles.
When Did Steam Last Set the Record?
This isn’t the first time Steam has broken its own record in 2021. No mean feat, considering we are only just into February.
At the start of January, the Steam updated its stats to show a new record, which stood at approximately 25.5 million. So, this record sets a new precedent, smashing the previous figure by 1 million additional users.
Why Is Steam So Popular?
Well, 26.5 million people can’t be wrong, can they? Steam is an incredibly popular platform for good reason. It has a vast wealth of games to play, it is a safe marketplace for buying those games, and it has a massive community of like-minded people to get involved in.
Not only that, but the games themselves are a massive draw for Steam subscribers, too. As I wrote this article, almost 1 million people were playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Half a million were populating the Dota 2 servers. Concurrent users stood at 25.1 million and rising, suggesting Steam may have another record stat for us by tomorrow.
Plus, we also need to consider the fact that gaming has enjoyed a surge in popularity in 2020, not least because COVID forced everyone to stay indoors. US games spending went through the roof last year. No surprise there, really.
Steam Continues to Grow
Steam has always been a popular platform, and 2020 has placed it in a powerful position. This is encouraging, considering that 2020 was an awful year for most businesses.
There are lots of other ways you can enjoy the Steam ecosystem. Why not get some friends together and enjoy a bit of remote gaming? If they’re not Steam subscribers, perhaps you could see about signing them up.