Steam entering 2024 with a record high player count

Steam is starting 2024 with a new record player count, with the new all-time peak reaching over 33.6 million players. Not only that, the in-game user count also reached a new all-time peak. Now we know one of the reasons for games making record sales.

For those who somehow don’t know, Steam is the biggest online marketplace for video games on PC made by Valve, creators of Counter-Strike, Dota 2, Portal and Half-Life Series.

The original Steam client was launched just for Valve games for updates, game servers and texting. Over the years, other AAA gaming companies as well as Indie game developers also started publishing their games on Steam using Steamworks.

Steamworks API allows the developers to easily integrate several functions like achievements, DRM, microtransactions and steam community-created content. It also provides proper servers where games are stored and can be downloaded on demand, assuming the user owns it.

Reason for the high player count

While there wasn’t any major release during the holidays, multiple game releases happened before that, last year. The holiday season just gave people a chance to sit down and play those games finally.

Games like The Finals, Lethal Company and Monster Hunter saw a huge number of players on top of already popular titles on Steam like Counter-Strike, Dota 2, Grand Theft Auto V, and Apex Legends.

Surprisingly, several other games like Baldur’s Gate 3, Warframe, Elden Ring, etc. are also keeping a healthy amount of players. This also provides insight into how more people are considering video games in their free time.

Another reason could be the success of Steam Deck, Valve’s handheld gaming device. Players can use it to play games anywhere they want while having a very decent gaming experience for AAA titles and a great experience in lighter ones.

This year also has several popular gaming titles lined up for release, which can help Steam set up a new player count record.