It’s been about a year since the onset of the global pandemic, and many people stay home to play video games. We’ve seen Steam’s simultaneous number of players break its own record during this piece, and the record has been broken once again.
Industry analyst Piers Harding-Rolls shared the news on Twitter, showing that more than 26 million Steam users were logged in at the same time, which is a highlight of the service. The number was actually a bit higher than what was listed in his tweet when we checked it out, so it looks like Steam’s record could get even bigger.
Simultaneous users of steam platforms today violated 26 million for the first time
Following the first closing growth in the first quarter of 2020, new records were set for PCCUs in January and February 2021
Note: CCUs in the game do not match the record set in March 2020 pic.twitter.com/xVhlwy780Y– Piers Harding-Rolls (@PiersHR) 7 February 2021
One variable, however, is how many people actually play actively. This record was not broken today, though it came closer than ever before in a year.
It’s hard to say with certainty why the player record was broken today, as it was a fairly dry period for new games. Staples like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Grand Theft Auto V and Team Fortress 2 still sit high on the charts, with over 1 million people in particular playing CS: GO at the same time. The weekend is usually the point when players count the highest rises each week. The reason for this is pretty obvious, although release dates for games can also cause the same spikes.
The last big peak we saw in December made more sense on paper, as Cyberpunk 2077 has just been released. It is still being recorded in February, but the total number of players has dropped significantly as CD Project Red continues to work on improving stability and tackling errors. The game’s worst problems were found on consoles. This definitely makes the PC a more attractive platform for the game, at least for now, as next generation versions will only arrive in late 2021.