There was a time when gaming, and even game development, was limited in terms of what could be released. After all, if you didn’t have a major publisher, how were you going to get your games out? Then, Valve did something very special in 2003, they launched a gaming service that would allow gamers to not only get a plethora of games but for developers to put their games on the service without all the hassle of getting a publisher. They made Steam.
Fast forward to today, and it’s hard to imagine our lives without Steam. After all, it’s a haven in regards to how many games we can find on it, both AAA and independent. What’s more, if a game goes multiplatform, 8/10 that means that there’s going to be a Steam version of the game, and that’s impressive. Even past games are getting a remake on the service, or a port so that players can enjoy previous entries. This including franchises like Final Fantasy.
With all that it does, it deserves all the success it can get, and a new stat proves that players really love the service as well.
Steam reaches 18 million concurrent users for the first time, along with 7 million users currently in-game. https://t.co/D6WDHbz0B4
— Steam Database (@SteamDB) January 6, 2018
That’s pretty impressive. Especially considering we’re talking about the entire world here, different time zones, people doing various things, etc. 18 million all at once is pretty cool, and the fact that 7 million of those people are playing games at once? Shows just how reliable the service is. No doubt though that games like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, DOTA 2, and other high-profile games are a big part of that 7 million. However, it doesn’t matter how they got the number, just that they’re there.
Let’s hope Steam continue to set the standard for what gaming is like in many ways.
