Steam has hit a new milestone, breaking 40 million concurrent users for the first time.
The platform hit 40,270,997 users online at the same time on March 2, 2025, setting a new record for PC gaming. Even if not everyone was playing, this milestone shows how Steam's still the top spot for digital gaming.
Steam's success has been nothing if not astounding. A decade ago, it saw a peak of around 8.9 million concurrent users, a staggering number by the standards of the time. That figure has gone through the roof, crossing 20 million in 2020 and now doubling that in just five years. PC gaming is on fire right now, and the trend isn't stopping anytime soon. In fact, it's expected to double in just five years.
Just to give you some context, Steam's concurrent user base now exceeds that of 80% of the countries in the United Nations. The number of people on Steam at once is almost the same as Canada's entire population and surpasses countries like Uzbekistan. Based on past data, Steam might now have over 220 million active users worldwide, surpassing the entire population of countries like Brazil, Japan, and the UK.
While the total number of concurrent users is impressive, only a fraction were actively in-game. Around 12.8 million players were actively engaged in gameplay, while others spent time browsing the store, reviewing their libraries, or interacting with community features.
But which games were responsible for this surge? One of the reasons we hit this milestone is the launch of Monster Hunter Wilds. Right before the record weekend, the game went live and instantly gathered 1.3 million players, becoming one of Steam's biggest hits. Even with some performance hiccups being worked out, the game's popularity definitely helped boost Steam's user numbers.
All the while, long-established games such as Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and PUBG kept their stronghold on the charts. Counter-Strike 2 reached almost 1.8 million active players, cementing its position as one of the platform's most-played titles. Even single-player games are holding their ground. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 also stayed in the top ten with 119,000+ players.
Another interesting factor is the rise of live-service games. Titles such as Marvel Rivals have also joined the ranks. As more multiplayer experiences launch, they're steadily increasing engagement across the platform.
But the financial impact is equally staggering. It's estimated that Steam users have spent more than $1.9 billion on games they haven't even touched. The huge amount of spending reveals the deep role Steam plays in the lives of millions of gamers worldwide. History shows this likely won't be the last time Steam beats its own record.
The platform could very well pass this milestone again, with highly anticipated releases still to drop in 2025.