/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24008237/Intel_Arc_Scavenger_Hunt_Winner_Core_i7_12700K_Core_i5_12600K_CPU_Alternative_To_Arc_A770_Arc_A750_GPUs.png "Leak: Intel’s Battlemage desktop GPUs are just days away")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25733836/twinklylifestylepic.jpg "The 100 best Black Friday deals under $100")
Steam has once again broken its record for the most PC players online, this time hitting an incredible 38,366,479 concurrents.
That figure, achieved on September 22, 2024, is a million concurrent players higher than the previous record set last month, which was fueled by the release of smash hit Black Myth: Wukong.
So, what helped propel Steam to new heights over the weekend? All the usual suspects were in the top 10 most-played games on Valve’s platform, including Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Banana (yes, Banana has yet to split), and PUBG, with this year’s Black Myth: Wukong, Satisfactory 1.0, Space Marine 2, and Valve’s own Deadlock putting in work. Last week saw PlayStation exclusives God of War Ragnarok and Final Fantasy 16 both launch on Steam for the first time, which will have provided a modest boost, too.
The popularity of Steam is gradually increasing as Valve’s vice-like grip on the PC market tightens ever further. Competitors such as the Epic Games Store and CD Projekt’s GOG occupy a relatively small piece of the PC gaming pie, with Steam continuing to enjoy record-breaking success even amid perceived downturns in the video game industry. The release of Steam Deck is yet another platform on which Steam operates.
The question now is, can Steam hit that 40 million concurrents figure? It seems inevitable — indeed the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 next month may help Steam hit that milestone.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
