2021 was a very good year for Steam. The PC gaming storefront and social platform saw its user base break 25 million in peak concurrent users at the start of 2021, then ended the year by crossing 27 million. 2022 looks like it will be increasing that momentum. Steam first broke its peak concurrent user record on January 2, nearing 28 million, then again on January 9, crossing 28 million for the first time, and then a third time on January 16 nearing 29 million. Now, for the fourth week in a row in 2022, Steam has again broken its concurrent user record.
From below 27 million prior to the start of 2022, Steam has added yet over a million users to its peak concurrent user record and crossed the threshold of 29 million users online at the same time. To be specific, the new record is 29,198,370. It’s an impressive achievement for a platform that launched in 2003, crossed 10 million in 2015, 20 million in 2020, and is now poised to cross 30 million within months.
There’s no specific reason why Steam has had such an impressive start to 2022, nor why this week in particular managed to cross 29 million concurrent users. The winter holiday sale is over, the top-selling game of the week is the PC port for the 2018 version of God of War, and there are no major events like, for example, Valve’s annual Dota 2 tournament The International. This seems to be a simple product of healthy growth for Steam.
That said, while there’s no overt reason for Steam’s sudden leap over 29 million concurrent users, there are contributing factors. Both Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel and Monster Hunter Rise were released this past week and are charting in the top 10 games for concurrent players. Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel even peaked at a surprising 263,000. Steam’s three biggest games at the moment, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, and PUBG: Battlegrounds are all also doing very well. CS:GO came just short of a million concurrent users on its own.
The question worth asking now is just how high Steam can go, both in the short-term and the long-term. Steam’s seen rapid growth in both 2020 and 2021, with both years’ growth periods peaking in April. As such, another few months of growth for Steam in 2022 wouldn’t be surprising to see, plus more growth in late 2022. There are also some big PC games coming up soon. Dying Light 2 launches on February 4, followed by MMO Lost Ark on February 11, Destiny 2’s Witch Queen expansion on February 22, and Elden Ring on February 25.
In other words, it very much looks like Steam’s four weeks of new records could continue on for some time. Even barring a single bad week, Steam could trounce its new concurrent user record any given weekend. The Steam Deck’s launch in February will only add to the momentum, too. 30 million seems easily within reach, while Steam’s genuine peak may be millions further ahead.
