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 own record for concurrent users, surpassing 40 million players for the first time. This milestone was reached over the weekend, coinciding with the launch of Monster Hunter Wilds on February 28, 2025. The platform logged an unprecedented 40,270,997 simultaneous players, eclipsing the previous record of 39.9 million set in February 2025.

Data from SteamDB indicates that Steam's concurrent user record, often viewed as a benchmark for Valve's digital platform success, has been broken almost every month since May 2024. The concurrent peak has surged from 35.5 million to 40.2 million within just six months. While this figure includes users who are idle—those with Steam open but not actively playing—the number of users engaged in games has also set a new high, rising from 12.5 million to 12.8 million.

Steam experienced significant player peaks throughout 2024, breaking its record twice in March and again in July. The latest peak can largely be attributed to the release of Monster Hunter Wilds, which achieved a 24-hour concurrent peak of 1.38 million players. Meanwhile, other titles like Counter-Strike 2, PUBG, Dota 2, and Marvel Rivals also saw impressive 24-hour peaks, with 1.7 million, 819,541, 657,780, and 268,283 players, respectively.

Despite its popularity, Monster Hunter Wilds has received a 'mixed' user review rating on Steam. In response, Capcom has released official guidance to address PC performance issues. Additionally, Capcom has unveiled early information about Monster Hunter Wilds Title Update 1, which will introduce an endgame social hub for players.

To assist players in starting their Monster Hunter Wilds journey, resources are available that cover essential tips not explicitly mentioned in the game, a comprehensive guide to all 14 weapon types, an ongoing walkthrough, and a multiplayer guide detailing how to play with friends. For those who participated in the open betas, instructions on transferring your Monster Hunter Wilds Beta character are also provided.

IGN's review of Monster Hunter Wilds awarded it an 8/10, noting: “Monster Hunter Wilds continues to refine the series in intelligent ways, delivering enjoyable battles but lacking significant challenge.”