Valve's Steam just set a new concurrent player record with over 42 million users (42,042,778 to be exact) logging into the platform on January 11, 2026. Breaking the previous record of 41.6 million set in October 2025, this new milestone isn't tied to any specific game release, so, outside of it occurring during the tail-end of the holiday season, it's indicative of Steam's continued growth as the premier PC gaming platform.
Naturally, the record was set over the weekend, when most gamers jump in to play. The latest figures and records come from SteamDB, which also showcased Steam's growing user base mapped over the past decade. The chart shows that Steam's popularity has effectively doubled since 2020, rising from around 20 million concurrent users to over 40 million.
According to the report, out of the over 42 million users logged into Steam, over 13 million were playing games at the time.
As for the games, the most popular titles on the platform haven't really changed with Counter-Strike 2, DOTA 2, and PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, continuing to draw huge numbers alongside newcomers like Arc Raiders. Odds are this 42 million number will be eclipsed at some point this year, with 50 million likely on the cards before 2030.
Some of the biggest upcoming PC games set to hit Steam in the month or so include Resident Evil Requiem from Capcom, 007 First Light from IO Interactive, and Nioh 3 from Koei Tecmo. Of course, alongside these heavy hitters, there will be a stream of great-looking indies to play on PC, the Steam Deck, or the upcoming Steam Machine, which is still on track for an early 2026 launch.
