Steam Tops 40 Million Concurrent Players For First Time As We All Jump On to Play Monster Hunter Wilds

Steam, the leading digital game distribution platform for PC gamers, has shattered its concurrent user record, surpassing 40 million players for the first time. This milestone was achieved over a weekend coinciding with the launch of Monster Hunter Wilds on Friday, February 28th, reaching a peak of 40,270,997 simultaneous users. This surpasses the previous record of 39.9 million set in February 2025.

According to SteamDB, Steam's concurrent user count—a key indicator of the platform's success—has been steadily climbing, breaking records nearly every month since May 2024. In just over six months, the peak concurrent users surged from 35.5 million to over 40.2 million. This growth isn't solely attributed to idle users; the number of actively engaged players also hit a new high, jumping from 12.5 million to 12.8 million.

Steam experienced significant player surges throughout 2024, breaking its record twice in March and again in July. The recent peak is largely attributed to the release of Monster Hunter Wilds, which saw a 24-hour concurrent player peak of 1.38 million. Other titles also contributed to the overall increase, with Counter-Strike 2 reaching 1.7 million concurrent players, PUBG at 819,541, Dota 2 at 657,780, and Marvel Rivals at 268,283.

Despite Monster Hunter Wilds' impressive player numbers, it received a "mixed" user review rating on Steam, prompting Capcom to release official guidance addressing PC performance issues. Capcom has also announced details for Monster Hunter Wilds Title Update 1, which will introduce an endgame social hub.

To enhance your Monster Hunter Wilds experience, explore our resources: a guide highlighting what the game doesn't explicitly explain, a comprehensive guide to all 14 weapon types, a detailed walkthrough (in progress), a multiplayer guide, and instructions on transferring your beta character.

IGN awarded Monster Hunter Wilds an 8/10 in its review, stating: "Monster Hunter Wilds continues to smooth off the rougher corners of the series in smart ways, making for some extremely fun fights but also lacking any real challenge."