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

Steam, the leading digital game distributor for PC gamers, has shattered its own record for concurrent users, reaching an unprecedented peak of over 40 million players. This milestone was achieved over the weekend, aligning perfectly with the launch of Monster Hunter Wilds on February 28, 2025. Steam recorded 40,270,997 simultaneous players, surpassing its previous high of 39.9 million set in February 2025.

Since May 2024, Steam's concurrent user record has been broken nearly every month, escalating from 35.5 million to the current 40.2 million in just over six months. This growth is tracked by SteamDB, which many consider a barometer for Valve's platform success. Notably, while this figure includes idle players—those with Steam open but not actively using it—the number of players engaged in games has also reached a new high, increasing from 12.5 million to 12.8 million.

Steam experienced surges in player peaks throughout 2024, breaking records twice in March and once in July. The latest peak can be attributed to the release of Monster Hunter Wilds, which saw a 24-hour concurrent peak of 1.38 million players. Other games like Counter-Strike 2, PUBG, Dota 2, and Marvel Rivals also contributed significantly, with 24-hour peaks of 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, prompting Capcom to issue official guidance on PC performance issues. Capcom has also revealed preliminary information about Monster Hunter Wilds Title Update 1, which will introduce an endgame social hub for players.

For those embarking on their Monster Hunter Wilds journey, valuable resources are available, including insights into what the game doesn't explicitly mention, a comprehensive guide to all 14 weapon types, a detailed walkthrough, and a multiplayer guide for playing with friends. Additionally, if you participated in the open betas, you can learn how to transfer your Monster Hunter Wilds Beta character.

IGN's review of Monster Hunter Wilds awarded it an 8/10, 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."