Alexis Kestler
Steam has firmly established itself as the dominant digital distribution platform for PC games, boasting a massive catalog of over 50,000 titles. With over 120 million monthly active users across the globe, Steam makes it easy for gamers to browse, purchase and play a huge variety of games spanning all genres.
But which games stand out as the most popular on Steam today? Here‘s a run-down of the top 10 games on Steam based on current player count and peak concurrent players:
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is far and away the most popular game on Steam right now. This tactical first-person shooter has averaged over 500,000 concurrent players daily in 2025, peaking at over 820,000.
Originally released in 2012, CS:GO is the fourth game in the venerable Counter-Strike series dating back to 1999. It features classic CS gameplay modes like defuse, hostage rescue and deathmatch. Valve has steadily updated the game over the years, adding new maps, weapons and cosmetic items. CS:GO has a thriving esports scene with various leagues and Major Championships that offer millions in prize money.
Dota 2 is a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed and published by Valve. It has averaged around 500,000 concurrent players, going over 640,000 at peak times.
Released in 2013, Dota 2 is based on the popular Warcraft 3 mod Defense of the Ancients. Teams of five players select from over 100 unique heroes with varied abilities to battle the opposing team. With its emphasis on strategy, teamwork and skill, Dota 2 has developed into one of esports‘ premier titles. The annual Dota 2 International tournament offers record-breaking prize pools, topping $40 million in 2025.
A more recent addition to Steam, Lost Ark has already built a substantial player base, averaging over 300,000 concurrent users daily since its release in February 2022.
Developed by Smilegate RPG, this free-to-play action RPG features lush graphics, flashy skill-based combat and varied PvE and PvP content. Players can explore a huge open world, battle hordes of enemies and take on instanced dungeons in parties of up to four. With 15 unique character classes and advanced class specializations, Lost Ark offers nearly endless gameplay variety.
PUBG: Battlegrounds basically kicked off the battle royale craze back in 2017. Four years later, it still draws over 250,000 concurrent players per day.
Developed by PUBG Corporation, Battlegrounds drops 100 players onto an island arena to scavenge for weapons and battle to the death until only one player or team is left standing. Its realistic gunplay and emphasis on tactics made the battle royale concept hugely popular.
A more recent battle royale title, Apex Legends comes from Respawn Entertainment, developers of the acclaimed Titanfall series. Apex Legends stewards the battle royale genre into a character-driven direction, with players picking from unique “Legends” each with their own skills and personalities.
With smooth, refined gameplay and innovations like respawning, Apex Legends has carved out a very healthy player base since its 2019 launch. It currently boasts over 200,000 simultaneous players on average.
For players seeking survival gameplay in a primal world of dinosaurs and ancient creatures, ARK: Survival Evolved delivers thrilling cooperative and competitive experiences. Players start with nothing on a mysterious island, hunting wildlife and gathering resources to build up a base and thrive on the dangerous island.
ARK enjoys a core community of over 100,000 daily players on Steam thanks to its deep crafting systems, creature taming mechanics and endlessly replayable open world.
Team Fortress 2 proves that a game can be both free-to-play and tremendously popular. Despite being originally released in 2007, the class-based multiplayer shooter still draws in over 130,000 players daily.
TF2‘s aesthetic blends Pixar-like visuals with slapstick violence as players battle in teams as scouts, soldiers, pyros and more. While TF2 is aging, it remains popular thanks to its easy learning curve, steady updates and non-reliance on microtransactions.
It‘s no surprise to see Grand Theft Auto V on this list. Rockstar‘s open-world crime epic has Sold over 170 million copies across all platforms. The PC version has averaged over 100,000 concurrent players daily years after release.
GTA V offers a satirical single-player story campaign along with the ever-popular GTA Online multiplayer mode. Servers support up to 30 players as they commit crimes, run businesses, build criminal empires and general wreak havoc together. Rockstar‘s steady stream of content updates like new missions, vehicles and weapons keeps the game feeling fresh.
Wallpaper Engine is a clever and customizable utility that allows you to use stunning animated and interactive wallpapers on your Windows desktop. It currently enjoys nearly 100,000 daily users.
The Steam Wallpaper Engine workshop features over 300,000 user-generated wallpapers spanning video game characters, animations, 3D renders and more. You can also create your own wallpapers in Wallpaper Engine using HTML, video and even interactive JavaScript elements.
Rounding out the top 10 is Rust, the cutthroat survival game from Facepunch Studios. Rust drops players on an unforgiving post-apocalyptic island with one goal: survive by any means necessary.
On servers with 100+ players, competition over resources and territory is fierce. Players can cooperatively build settlements and trade goods, or ruthlessly raid one another for loot. Rust is tense and unpredictable, making for compelling emergent storytelling. With over 300 content updates to date, Rust keeps players on their toes.
Steam‘s top games showcase the platform‘s diversity, catering to hardcore competitive players, cooperative survivalists, casual gamers, modders and more. Valve continues to improve Steam‘s features and functionality, while providing game developers with a thriving online marketplace. For PC gamers, Steam will likely remain the go-to source for gaming new and old.
