Steam Statistics By Users, Most Played Games, Market Share and Demographics
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Steam Statistics: Steam is a platform for online gaming. Valve Company first released Steam in 2003 to provide automatic game updates. Since then, it has become a major digital game distribution platform for developers and publishers.
It is used by millions of people across the globe and runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows. Apart from games, the platform provides many applications and software as well as movies, anime, and game soundtracks.
But how huge is Steam? How much do we currently know about platform users?
To learn the answers to these and other questions, check out the list of surprising Steam statistics below.
Surprising Steam Statistics (Editor's Choice)
- More than 50,000 games are available on US Steam.
- Steam accounts for 50% to 70% of all PC game downloads around the world.
- Steam is the most widely used video game distribution platform in the world, with around 75% of the global market. It attracts approximately 20 million gamers every day.
- Steam was launched on 12th September 2003.
- Game play time on Steam has increased from 20.8 billion in 2019 to nearly 31.3 billion in 2019, a more than 50% increase.
- In 2020, Steam generated 25.2 Exabytes of data.
- On Steam, independent video games (indie games) have earned around $6.4 billion.
- On 28th April 2019, there were 1 billion Steam accounts.
- 19% of Steam traffic comes from China, and 16.8% comes from the United States.
- Between 2018 and 2019, the number of reviews about the games in the Steam catalog increased by 300%, reaching 70,000.
- The different 5 languages available on Steam are Simplified Chinese, English, Spanish, German, and Russian.
Key Steam Statistics
Here, we take a closer look at some of the most significant Steam facts about its most popular games, users, and other details.
#1. More than 50,000 games are available on US Steam.
Are you curious to know how many Steam games are available in 2022?
At the time of writing, there are over 50,000 titles available on the US Steam store, and that number is undoubtedly growing as you continue to read this.
This figure does not include every game that has been released on Steam. This number is much more significant because it contains games removed from Steam due to licensing issues, content restrictions, or is clearly deceptive.
(Source: PCGamesN)
#2. Steam was launched on 12th September 2003.
Are you curious about the history of Steam?
Steam is one of the most well-known and largest digital game distribution platforms globally. The Valve Corporation developed it so customers could buy and play PC games.
On 12th September 2003, the platform was initially made accessible to the general public.
(Source: Oldest)
#3. The different 5 languages available on Steam are Simplified Chinese, English, Spanish, German, and Russian.
Steam Users Statistics
#4. In 2020, Steam had 120 million active users per month.
Steam boasts 120 million monthly active users. This massive rise of 26.31% compared to the 95 million active users in 2019.
(Source: Statista)
#5. The complete breakdown of Steam users by the operating system is shown below.
#6. 48 million steam players use controllers.
Valve Company reported that Steam controller use is increasing and surpassing all previous levels. Approximately 48 million gamers have used a controller in a game.
10% of daily game sessions involve the usage of a controller, and nearly 21% of gamers use one for PlayStation on Steam.
(Source: Steam Community)
#7. In 2020, Steam provided its users with an all-time high of 25.2 exabytes of data.
Steam provided an all-time high of 25.2 exabytes of data to its users in 2020. This was partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Cyberpunk 2077's December release.
(Source: Venture Beat)
Most Played Games On Steam?
#8. By an average number of concurrent players, the most popular Steam games as of May 2022.
(Source: Statista)
#9. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) peak concurrent monthly players on Steam all over the world as of April 2022.
(Source: Statista)
#10. The most popular game on Steam is “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.”
Based on the file size (200GB), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is the biggest game on Steam.
Mixed reviews got for the game from players; some praised it as the best Call of Duty game while others criticized its following PES's and FIFA's footsteps.
(Source: Game Style)
#11. The most popular game on Steam in 2022 is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
(Source: steamcharts)
#12. Top-rated games on the Steam platform are Portal 2, Factorio, Hades, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Terraria, etc.
The video game Portal 2 was created and released by Valve. It was published on 19th April 2011, and as of right now, 235,407 people have given it a positive review, making it Steam's most popular game. The video game Portal 2 has a 97.61% rating. In addition, the Factorio game ranked second with a 97.44% rating. The independent game Hades launched on 17th September 2020 and ranked third among the best-rated games with a 97.43% rating.
Furthermore, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ranked fourth with a 97.10% rating. Terraria by Re-Logic have 688,564 favorable replies, and it is the fifth-highest-rated game on the platform. It has a 97.09% rating.
#13. In 2019, Steam was the only platform used by PC gamers to play games for over 20 billion hours.
Recent Steam game statistics from 2019 show that PC gamers spent over 20 billion hours on the Steam platform alone.
This is approximately 1,400 hours per individual or 58 days per year.
(Source: Tech Spot)
#14. The most popular game on Steam in 2020 was Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
In 2020, CS: GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) led the Steam leaderboard for the most concurrent players on the online gaming platform, with approximately 1.3 million players.
The only other game on the platform to achieve one million concurrent players was Cyberpunk 2077, which came in second on the Steam charts.
(Source: Statista)
#15. In 2020, Steam added more than 10,000 games.
Recent Steam statistics show that the platform released only seven games in 2004, although this number has steadily increased over the years.
It increased from 8,033 in 2019 to a startling 10,263 in 2020. The platform has released 3,031 titles in 2021's first and second quarters.
(Source: Statista)
One of the most well-known brands in the gaming sector is Steam. Let's look at some incredible Steam statistics that show the company's revenue, market value, and sales.
#16. 62.6 million people use Steam every day.
Due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, Steam already saw significant growth in 2020. Recent Steam statistics show that more than half of monthly active users visit Steam at least once daily.
People were compelled to stay at home, significantly increasing the time spent playing and purchasing video games.
(Source: Steam)
#17. Sales of video games on Steam increased by 21%.
In 2020, there were 62.6 million daily active users on Steam and 120 million monthly active players. This resulted in the number of hours spent playing games on Steam climbing by 50.7% year over year, and game sales increased by nearly 21.4%.
(Source: Games Industry)
#18. There were roughly 2.6 million new buyers on Steam every month in 2020.
Steam users spent 50% more time on Steam, and game sales grew by more than 21% in 2020 compared to 2019.
The latest Steam sales statistics show that an average of 2.6 million new purchasers joined the platform every month in 2020.
(Source: DualShockers)
#19. 50% of Steam's revenue comes from around 100 games.
Nearly half of the $4.3 billion was generated by around 100 games from the 21,000 games available on Steam. This means that 0.5% of all games generated 50% of overall sales income.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds was the top earner in 2017, earning around $600 million with 28 million Steam users.
(Source: Games Industry)
#20. The popularity of Epic Games poses a severe threat to Steam.
A new conflict has emerged between two gaming behemoths: Steam vs. Epic Games. Epic Games is slightly behind Steam but is on the rise.
The number of monthly active users on Fortnite has increased by 75% due to its enormous popularity. In 2019, there were 32 million monthly users of Epic Games; this figure rose to 56 million in 2020.
More than 160 million Epic Games Store PC customers are registered on the platform. The daily active users have increased by 192%, from almost 7 million in 2019 to nearly 31.3 million in 2020.
Epic Games is the most well-known, but many other Steam rivals are also in the game: Uplay, GOG Galaxy, Itch.io, and others.
(Source: Epic Games)
#21. Only the top 1% of Steam games generate over $25 million each on the platform.
Recent Steam online stats show that only 30% of games have over $50,000.
Despite Steam's widespread use, approximately 50% of the games on the Stream platform have never earned more than $10,000.
(Source: Into Indie Games)
Steam Demographics
As a popular worldwide gaming platform, Steam is full of blockbuster games that draw in millions of users. The globe is filled with gamers who spend hours in front of their computers.
Let's quickly review some Steam user statistics to get a better idea of the Steam audience.
#22. In the United States, 43% of adult Steam users are between the ages of 20 and 29.
It is clear from the breakdown of Steam users by age group that younger generations are more likely to use the platform.
This makes sense, considering that 38% of video game players are between 18 and 34 years old, and only 6% are 65 years or older.
(Source: Statista)
#23. The most popular game on Steam is Counter-Strike: Global Strike Offensive.
Counter-Strike was first launched on 8th November 2000. The franchise has dominated the gaming charts since its debut.
Recent Steam player statistics show users have spent over 399 million hours on the Counter-Strike: Global Strike Offensive game. As I write this article, more than 500,000 players are currently playing the game.
(Source: Steam Charts)
#24. In April 2020, Steam had a streak of record-breaking usage with 26.92 million active users.
Steam broke its own record for the highest number of concurrent users ever seen on the site in April.
Steam statistics reveal that Steam's previous concurrent user count was almost 24 million in April 2020.
(Source: Statista)
#25. 14.43% of all Steam users are from the United States.
The United States is the platform's most famous market when looking at the number of Steam users by nation.
Thanks to Counter-Strike and PUBG, Steam is becoming well-known across many parts of the world. The gaming market is flourishing in China-presently accounting for 11.64% of its user base.
(Source: Statista)
#26. In China, there are now more than 30 million Steam users.
As I mentioned before, China is one of the world's largest gaming markets. Because Steam is so well-liked in China, Valve Company announced a collaboration with Perfect World Company earlier this year to create a Chinese version of Steam.
Global Steam users are rising, which is good news for the gaming industry. Over 600,000 digital copies of the independent Chinese video game “The Scroll of Taiwu” were sold on Steam.
(Source: Variety)
Conclusion
Gamers may play any game with hundreds, if not millions, of other players from across the world on Steam, which acts as a digital haven for them.
You might have gotten a sense of how well-liked Steam is among gamers across the globe from the above-mentioned Steam statistics. Also, Steam is a very popular gaming platform with millions of users. It offers a variety of features that keep players engaged and coming back for more. With its wide selection of games and excellent user experience, it's no wonder Steam is so popular.
Steam has gained popularity since its launch in 2003 and is continually growing
Sources
Barry is a lover of everything technology. Figuring out how the software works and creating content to shed more light on the value it offers users is his favorite pastime. When not evaluating apps or programs, he's busy trying out new healthy recipes, doing yoga, meditating, or taking nature walks with his little one.
