Steam hits 20M players as CSGO, Rainbow Six have record days
Steam has had a record day today, posting the highest number of users logged in at over 20 million people. It’s been a record day for the platform and for developer Valve. A new record number of players for Valve’s premier first-person shooter, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, certainly helped Steam hit the milestone.
The competitive FPS also set a record for most concurrent players of all time on Saturday morning, breaking the one million player mark for the first time since it release 8 years ago. It broke yesterday’s record again this morning, reaching 1,024,845 players logged in to the game at once.
While CSGO and Dota 2 certainly put in the effort, they may have had some outside help. IGN has attributed Steam’s growth to the increased concern around COVID-19, the respiratory virus that is currently spreading around the world. While that may be the case for Steam in general, Dota 2 has seen a steady trend upwards in players since Monday, January 20, during the DreamLeague Leipzig Major.
Counter-Strike’s rise has been an even longer road. CSGO has grown from an average of 500,000 players in June 2019 to over one million today. In fact, its largest growth came in February 2020, well before quarantines were issued.
CSGO leads charge for record number of players on Steam
Other popular titles included the ever-present Grand Theft Auto 5 as well as action RPG Path of Exile. Rainbow Six Siege also broke its concurrent player count today, posting a total of 196,352 players earlier this morning. As more and more games on the platform have record days, previous concern over a war between the Epic Games Store and Steam doesn’t seem like that much of a fight.
While Valve has certainly benefited from all the extra time that people now have, renewed interest in its games means more content for the fans who enjoy playing them. Now, veteran players are awash with a surge of new people who might be experiencing a game for the first time. For them, it’s like Christmas time all over again.
It remains to be seen if Steam will continue to see such huge growth numbers. While continued quarantines and social isolation around the world are hardly helpful developments overall, they do conribute to a greater number of players on Steam and other gaming platforms.
M Alzamora
About M Alzamora
There are few things that writer M Alzamora loves more in life than Pokemon. And there are even fewer things that she loves more than her favorite Pokemon, Eevee. But M’s appreciation for gaming isn’t just limited to Nintendo’s famous pocket monsters. She’s interested in every type of game across every genre of gaming, and she has the credentials to prove it. M’s work has also been seen on Working Classicists and gaming sites.
View full profile
Read Also
Counter-Strike
IEM Cologne Major 2026 CS2 Stage 3 Pick’Em Predictions
Owen Harsono
It’s that time of the year again, as the next Counter-Strike 2 Major is right around the corner. The IEM Cologne 2026 Major is set to start on June 2, meaning you still have some time to lock in your Pick’Em predictions. The Pick’Em Challenge is one of the most exciting parts of the CS2 Majors, as it allows you to test your knowledge and predict which teams make it ...
Counter-Strike
Team Spirit concede just 10 rounds in Stage 2 of the IEM Cologne Major
Owen Harsono
It was pretty weird seeing Team Spirit having to start the IEM Cologne Major from Stage 2, but they quickly proved why that was a mistake. With donk shooting on all fronts, the Eastern Europeans speed ran the competition to book their spot in Stage 3. With how they’ve been playing, it’s hard not to wonder whether they can actually win the entire thing. These boys can sometimes be known ...
Counter-Strike
BIG pull off 0-12 comeback to stay alive – IEM Cologne Major Stage 1 recap
Owen Harsono
We’ve just witnessed arguably the worst choke in Counter-Strike Major history, and we’re only on the first stage of the IEM Cologne Major. If you didn’t tune into the Stage 1 matches, here’s what you need to know heading into Stage 2. Many fans tend to underestimate Stage 1 teams for fair reasons, but some survivors in this tournament look extremely promising. Two Eastern European teams, BetBoom Team and B8, ...
Counter-Strike
Who will win the IEM Cologne Major 2026?
Owen Harsono
If you’re looking to play it safe and back one team at the Counter-Strike 2 IEM Cologne 2026 Major, traders prediction markets platforms have a clear frontrunner – it’s Team Vitality. But if it’s not meant to be, there are a few other candidates that could lift the trophy. Here’s what traders on Polymarket and Kalshi think. If you haven’t been watching CS2 this year and are only jumping on ...
Counter-Strike
The 10 best CS2 players who have never won a Major
Owen Harsono
In Counter-Strike, winning a Major immediately puts you into legend status. It’s an achievement that proves you won the game’s biggest trophy. However, there have been some really good players that could never get their hands on the biggest trophy that Counter-Strike esports has to offer. Here is WIN.gg's list of best CS2 players who have never won a Major. ScreaM is one of Counter-Strike's most famous players for one ...
Counter-Strike
IEM Cologne Major 2026: All the teams, favorites, and outright betting odds
Owen Harsono
Mark your calendars, as the IEM Cologne Major kicks off on June 2, 2026. We’re going to see the best teams in the world compete, but which ones are actually favored to take the title? This will be the first time in 10 years that IEM Cologne will return as a Counter-Strike Major, so the stakes this year are much higher than they’ve been in a decade. In this guide, ...
Esports Betting
All IEM Cologne winners and rosters in Counter-Strike history
Owen Harsono
IEM Cologne is one of Counter-Strike’s biggest events, happening every single year. Some seasons, the event is labeled as one of Valve’s two Counter-Strike Majors of the year, but if not, still stands as one of the big events every player chases to win. With the IEM Cologne 2026 Major right around the corner, let’s take a trip down memory lane and check out every single winner of the tournament, ...
