As everyone is now supposed to be inside to try and combat COVID-19, a lot of people are playing games.
It just so happens that quite a lot of those people have taken to Steam. And, as a result, have broken Steam’s previous record of online users. As noted by SteamDB, a staggering 22 million players logged into Steam between 20th-22nd March.
To put that into context, the last time we reported on Steam numbers being broken, there were around 18 million people using the platform.
Obviously, the pandemic and subsequent global lockdowns have had a massive input in this. However, there are also a few other caveats that might have made a difference.
The recently announced “Stay Inside” Bundle – featuring Binding of Isaac Collection and more – is reduced down to less than £15: Square Enix made Tomb Raider (2013) and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris free to buy and keep: Half-Life: Alyx was released, which undoubtedly saw a major rise in players coming in to check it out (or catch up on the previous instalments).
As the lockdown continues (for at least three weeks), and people find themselves spending more time indoors, don’t be surprised to see that figure broken again.
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ABG’s Senior Editor (News), YouTube content creator/streamer.