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Valve started the year off rather nicely by breaking two of their own records recently with users online and users actually gaming.

They have a new all-time peak for concurrent online users as 33,078,963 and 10,284,568 playing games. This is only the second time we've seen over 10 million people in-game, the first being the day before on January 7th but these numbers from January 8th are the new records as shown by SteamDB.

The current top 5 most played games are:

  • Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
  • Dota 2.
  • Goose Goose Duck.
  • PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS.
  • Apex Legends.

Goose Goose Duck the social deduction game (that takes a look of inspiration directly from Among Us) being a complete newcomer releasing in October last year, and suddenly seeing the player count rise from late November where it went up like a rocket to see a 24 hour peak of 640,324. It being free to play probably helps a lot, and it runs on Linux with Proton.

This and more was covered in my News Flip #2 video.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Misc, Steam, Valve
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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AsciiWolf Jan 9, 2023
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It is really nice that 4 out of 5 most played games are playable on Linux and 2 of them are native.
psycho_driver Jan 9, 2023
Man it's a shame Epic Games Store and all of their paid exclusives cut into Steam's market share so drastically.
Eike Jan 9, 2023
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Quoting: psycho_driverMan it's a shame Epic Games Store and all of their paid exclusives cut into Steam's market share so drastically.

That's why Steam has an all-time low I guess?
whizse Jan 9, 2023
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After all these years, still Counter-Strike?

CS:GO is 10+ years old, the original 20+. Time to try something new?
Anza Jan 9, 2023
Quoting: whizseAfter all these years, still Counter-Strike?

CS:GO is 10+ years old, the original 20+. Time to try something new?

And lose your rank, no way

Dota 2 also has been there for ages. Multiplayer in general seems to be something that keeps people invested in the game for longer time.

I don't play enough multiplayer games to know for sure what makes CS: GO and Dota 2 to stay on top (competitive games just don't cause any real addiction in me). E-sports could be part of it, but I'm not sure if it explains everything.

PS: it dawned on me that some of the big ones have large presence also outside Steam, so Steam player counts don't give the full picture. So it makes sense that Valve games are on top as they're not available anywhere else.


Last edited by Anza on 9 January 2023 at 3:54 pm UTC
Purple Library Guy Jan 9, 2023
Quoting: Eike
Quoting: psycho_driverMan it's a shame Epic Games Store and all of their paid exclusives cut into Steam's market share so drastically.

That's why Steam has an all-time low I guess?
Pretty sure he was being sarcastic.
Eike Jan 9, 2023
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Quoting: Purple Library Guy
Quoting: Eike
Quoting: psycho_driverMan it's a shame Epic Games Store and all of their paid exclusives cut into Steam's market share so drastically.

That's why Steam has an all-time low I guess?
Pretty sure he was being sarcastic.

Yes, I... got it afterwards.

(Hey, to my excuse, nothing is so stupid you don't find somebody on the internet saying and believing it! ;) )
hardpenguin Jan 9, 2023
QuoteThe current top 5 most played games are:

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
Dota 2.
Goose Goose Duck.
PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS.
Apex Legends.

Kay kay, now they need to get PUBG running in Proton.
StoneColdSpider Jan 9, 2023
Seems like I bet on the right horse back in 2003....... Oh god...... Just realised that was 20 years ago now.......
Scytale Jan 10, 2023
Sorry, I have not much time for an elaborate comment, because after playing Spider-Man on Steam Deck, I have little time to complete Assassin's Creed Odyssey after finishing AC: Rogue last night to get ready to start AC Valhalla before Hogwarts Legacy might be playable on Deck in February. But I also have to finish Persona 4 to get ready for Persona 5, and Borderlands 2 also wants to be played. Maybe I play a bit Skyrim in bed to relax a bit from all this pressure playing all the games from the last 10 years, I had no chance playing.

Seriously, hats off to Valve. Honestly gained it, fair and square and not by ripping the customers and bullying them. Valve is my company of the decade. And by using Linux 24/7 I'm normally doing a lot to not depend on companies so much, but hey, not in this case.
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