Another weekend, another Steam record, with the numbers suggesting that this surge isn’t a one-off.
Steam has set yet another concurrent user record, pushing past the 42 million mark and continuing a growth trend that has shown no real signs of slowing down in recent years.
According to data tracked by SteamDB, Valve’s PC storefront hit a peak of 42,042,778 concurrent users on 11 January, surpassing the previous record of 41,816,052 set just two months earlier. Of those users, 13,119,473 were actively playing a game at the time, with the rest logged into the client browsing, downloading, or queued up for their next session.
SteamDB data shows Steam’s user growth accelerating well beyond pre-pandemic levels
As highlighted in a wider analysis reported by Wccftech, Steam’s current numbers look even more impressive when viewed over time. Before the pandemic, the platform was growing at a relatively modest pace of around 4.5 percent per year. That changed dramatically in 2020, when Steam saw a 31.5 percent jump in a single year, driven by lockdowns and a surge in PC gaming.
Since then, growth has stabilised but remains strong, sitting between 12.6 and 13.9 percent annually, which explains why new concurrent records are being broken with increasing frequency. Steam’s average concurrent user count has more than doubled compared to 2020, reinforcing the idea that PC gaming’s pandemic-era boom wasn’t just a temporary spike.
Financially, Steam is also riding high. December 2025 was reportedly the platform’s highest-grossing month ever, helped by big releases like Arc Raiders alongside viral indie successes such as Peak. Valve’s recent sales have also drawn praise for their overall quality, often holding up well against deeper but less consistent discounts on rival storefronts.
Hardware has played a role too. The Steam Deck continues to expand Steam’s reach, especially among players who want access to PC games without the usual technical friction. Despite its limitations, it’s become the default “console” option for a growing number of more casual PC players.
For comparison, Steam’s latest record still falls short of Roblox’s all-time peak of around 68 million concurrent players, which was set in Q2 2024. Even so, within the PC space, Steam’s position looks increasingly untouchable. Other platforms, including the Epic Games Store, have grown over the years, but user behaviour suggests many still log in primarily for weekly free games rather than spending consistently.
With SteamDB numbers continuing to trend upwards, breaking 42 million concurrent users feels less like an anomaly, and more like the next step in Steam’s new normal.
