Since 2012, the video game platform Steam has been one of the largest and most important online shops for video games, updates, and software. With the registration of a profile, game keys for video games and software can be purchased via the Steam Shop. These are then applicable and playable on your own PC with a free downloadable Steam Client.
Regular updates and patches for games are also published via Steam. In addition, Steam offers individual comment and forum functions, as well as the regular release of news, for each game. This creates active communication between players and manufacturers/developers, and between players themselves.
The spring under lockdown brings Steam user records
Steam has never been so popular since the end of March. On March 31, 2020, the platform first broke the 24 million mark for active players. At the beginning of April 2020, Valve recorded the highest value to date for Steam of 24,534,770 simultaneous players. The current record high for April 8, 2020 is 23,528,898 simultaneous players.
The list of most played games is currently led by the online shooter Counter Strike: Global Offensive and the multiplayer battle arena Dota 2. Such massive online games are particularly popular because they are particularly accessible to former and newer players. In addition to perennial favorites like Grand Theft Auto V and Ark: Survival Evolved, the newly released action role-playing game Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is also particularly popular. Currently, Destiny 2 can also be found among the top 10 most played games.
The Steam communities for these games are coming to life with new members and exciting discussions. At the time of the Corona virus, many people find a welcome distraction in the virtual worlds. It remains to be seen whether the entire video game industry can benefit from this current boom in the future
