Many PC gamers enjoy the most played games on Steam in 2025; the numbers speak for themselves. Steam is the biggest PC gaming marketplace with over 130 million monthly active users. Naturally, games have the potential to go blockbuster on the platform, granted the content is good. Just last year, we saw games like Palworld break records in January, and the Black Myth: Wukong broke them again in the latter half of 2024.
Even in 2025, familiar names will still be the most played games on Steam. Of course, classic multiplayer games top the charts. However, a couple of single-player-only games are breaking into the Steam game charts.
The monthly Steam player count increases, and the top games will only grow further in 2025. We’re covering the 10 most played games on Steam so you can get an encompassing view of what’s popular and why.
Key Takeaways
- Steam has an estimated 130 million active gamers monthly, with around 60 million users logging in daily.
- The top most played games on Steam reach millions of concurrent players, especially at launch.
- We are looking at the all-time player count peaks, but many games gradually increase player numbers.
- Multiplayer Steam games are the most popular, but single-player-only games are on an upward swing, such as seen with Black Myth: Wukong.
- Steam Charts is an excellent data source, giving extended game player counts.
Most Played Games on Steam in 2025
10. New World: Aeternum
- All-Time Peak: 913,634
- Highlights: Action Adventure, Massively Multiplayer, RPG
- Developer: Amazon Games
- Publisher: Amazon Games
- Availability & Cost: $59.99 on Steam
Amazon’s first MMO, New World: Aeternum, started with a bang but has since settled down. The game is an online role-playing game with a well-designed and massive world to explore. It can be played solo, with friends, or against other players online.
While the PVE portion receives praise, the PVP can be frustrating, especially for new players. Plenty of content keeps players busy for a while, making New World: Aeternum a good investment. See how it compares against the best MMORPGs in 2025.
9. Banana
- All-Time Peak: 917,272
- Highlights: Free to Play, Clicker, Singleplayer
- Developer: Sky
- Publisher: Sky
- Availability & Cost: Free on Steam
Banana is a clicking idle game. That’s it; clicking is what a player does in the game. The free-to-play game became one of the most-played games on Steam in early 2024 and is still going strong. Players click on a JPEG image of a banana in Banana. The actual “game” is to obtain Steam items, usually bananas of various rarities, and then sell them on Steam Marketplace.
It’s a simple premise with tangible monetary results. If you’re interested, we recommend comparing it to the best idle games in 2025.
8. Elden Ring
- All-Time Peak: 953,426
- Highlights: Souls-like, Open World, RPG
- Developer: FromSoftware
- Publisher: FromSoftware
- Availability & Cost: $59.99 on Steam
Elden Ring is among the most popular Steam games ever. Made by FromSoftware, the developer behind the Dark Souls series, Elden Ring is an open-world game featuring unforgiving enemies and bosses. It’s an RPG, so players can mold their character however they see fit. From mages to warriors and from rogues to archers, there are plenty of classes to choose from.
7. Cyberpunk 2077
- All-Time Peak: 1,054,388
- Highlights: Cyberpunk, RPG, Open World
- Developer: CD Projekt RED
- Publisher: CD Projekt RED
- Availability & Cost: $59.99 on Steam
Cyberpunk 2077 might have had a rocky start, but thanks to frequent updates, it’s now stable and highly enjoyable. CDPR, the developers better known for making The Witcher series, created an open-world single-player RPG set in a cyberpunk city.
Cyberpunk 2077 offers a lot of freedom to players, from playstyles to branching narratives. Night City is worth a visit for any RPG or cyberpunk fan. No wonder why it’s one of the most-played RPG games on Steam in 2025.
6. Dota 2
- All-Time Peak: 1,295,114
- Highlights: Free-to-play, MOBA, Multiplayer
- Developer: Valve
- Publisher: Valve
- Availability & Cost: Free on Steam
Valve’s own MOBA, Dota 2, is just as popular as it was almost a decade ago at launch. The Game pits a group of five players against five opponents. There are 126 heroes, each with unique abilities and powers. The fiercely competitive game might have a high learning curve, but it’s a rewarding experience once you get into it. Its addictive nature is why Dota 2 remains among the most-played Steam games of all time.
5. Lost Ark
- All-Time Peak: 1,325,305
- Highlights: MMO, RPG, Free-to-play
- Developer: Smilegate RPG
- Publisher: Amazon Games
- Availability & Cost: Free on Steam
A South Korean-made isometric RPG, Lost Ark has a lot of content to get through. The combat is the highlight of this action title; it’s flashy and beautiful. Mowing down hordes of enemies is a joy but can get stale after the 10th hour or so. If you are a fan of Diablo-like games, Lost Ark will scratch the loot itch really well.
4. Counter-Strike 2
- All-Time Peak: 1,818,773
- Highlights: Shooter, Free-to-play, team-based
- Developer: Valve
- Publisher: Valve
- Availability & Cost: Free on Steam
A tactical team-based shooter from Valve, Counter-Strike 2 brings graphical improvements to the tried-and-tested formula. The game pits terrorists against counter-terrorist teams in a race to plant or defuse a bomb. The new game has a higher graphical fidelity but retains the same slow and calculated game mechanics that made the original so popular.
3. Palworld
- All-Time Peak: 2,101,867
- Highlights: Open-world, Survival, Creature collecting
- Developer: Pocketpair
- Publisher: Pocketpair
- Availability & Cost: $29.99 on Steam
Palworld isn’t just Pokémon with guns; it’s more than that. Sure, it has capturable monsters roaming an open world, but the game plays more like a survival title than a Nintendo-made adventure. You make a base of operations, capture Pals, and invite friends over for co-op time. Palworld combined two different genres to great effect, and its topping Steam charts is a testament to its quality.
2. Black Myth: Wukong
- All-Time Peak: 2,415,714
- Highlights: Action, RPG, Souls-like
- Developer: Game Science
- Publisher: Game Science
- Availability & Cost: $59.99 on Steam
Black Myth: Wukong came late in 2024 but made a splash with its boss-centric gameplay. The Chinese game features Wukong as he tackles boss after boss. The graphics are beautiful, the animations are gorgeous, and the combat is eye-catching. If you like action RPGs or Elden Ring, you’ll have a great time with Black Myth: Wukong, which is among the most popular Steam games.
It’s rare to see one of the best Souls-like games nearly top player counts like this, too.
1. PUBG: Battlegrounds
- All-Time Peak: 3,257,248
- Highlights: Survival, Battle Royale, Multiplayer
- Developer: PUBG Corporation
- Publisher: Krafton, Inc.
- Availability & Cost: Free on Steam
PUBG: Battlegrounds is the original battle royale game that catapulted the genre into the mainstream. The game throws up to a hundred players on a vast map, and the last player (or team) standing wins the match.
There are multiple weapon pickups, buildings, and vehicles to aid players. The feeling of finally winning a hard-fought battle can’t be replicated anywhere else. PUBG: Battlegrounds gameplay loop is addictive, keeping it among the most-played Steam games of all time list for almost seven years. It took what worked about the popular Arma 2, Day-Z, and refined it.
More of the Most Played Games on Steam in 2025
An isometric RPG that can be played solo or with a party. $29.99 on Steam
Apex Legends is a faster, streamlined battle royale title by Respawn Entertainment. Free on Steam
Goose Goose Duck is a social deduction game where Goose find birds that don’t belong in their gaggle. Free on Steam
A massive and equally impressive turn-based RPG. $59.99 on Steam
Explore Hogwarts and its surroundings as a new student and become a powerful spell caster. $59.99 on Steam
The Bottom Line
The most played games on Steam in 2025 are already well-established titles. We’ll certainly see new contenders arise as the year goes on. Plenty of big releases are scheduled for 2025, Monster Hunter Wilds, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and Atomfall are around the corner. However, it will be really hard to dethrone the current hot favorites, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2.
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References
- New World: Aeternum on Steam (Steam)
- Banana on Steam (Steam)
- ELDEN RING on Steam (Steam)
- Cyberpunk 2077 on Steam (Steam)
- Dota 2 on Steam (Steam)
- Lost Ark on Steam (Steam)
- Counter-Strike 2 on Steam (Steam)
- Palworld on Steam (Steam)
- Black Myth: Wukong on Steam (Steam)
- PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS on Steam (Steam)
- Path of Exile 2 on Steam (Steam)
- Apex Legends™ on Steam (Steam)
- Goose Goose Duck on Steam (Steam)
- Baldur’s Gate 3 on Steam (Steam)
- Hogwarts Legacy on Steam (Steam)