About this chart race
Dota 2 had the most players on Steam every year from 2013 to 2017. PUBG took first place in 2018 with an average of about 856,000 players, then dropped to third in 2019 as Dota 2 moved back to first.
Counter-Strike has been first every year since 2020. Its 2025 average of about 979,000 players is the highest yearly figure in this data. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was replaced by Counter-Strike 2 in September 2023, and both are counted under the same Steam app.
This animated ranking shows how average concurrent players on steam changed across 43 series between 2013 and 2026. The bars re-order themselves as the years advance, so overtakes are visible as they happen rather than hidden inside a table. Use the list on the left to choose exactly who competes, drag the slider to jump to any year, or open the table view to read the underlying numbers.
As of 2026, Counter-Strike 2 leads with 965,795.
Included in this race
Counter-Strike 2, PUBG, Dota 2, Lost Ark, Apex Legends, Banana, Palworld, Bongo Cat, Black Myth: Wukong, Marvel Rivals, FiveM, Naraka: Bladepoint, Rust, Grand Theft Auto V, TBH: Task Bar Hero, Slay the Spire 2, Baldur's Gate 3, Team Fortress 2, Elden Ring, Call of Duty, Rainbow Six Siege, Delta Force, Destiny 2, Warframe, ARK: Survival Evolved, Football Manager 2020, New World, Monster Hunter: World, H1Z1, Rocket League, DayZ, Civilization V, Football Manager 2017, Football Manager 2015, Football Manager 2016, Garry's Mod, Football Manager 2014, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Football Manager 2013, Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Source, Borderlands 2.
Source
Data from SteamCharts. Every figure shown comes from this source — nothing is estimated or generated.
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