The user numbers and active players on Steam are declining. This could be related to PUBG and Fortnite. But why?
In summer, less is happening: It’s no surprise that Steam user numbers decrease in summer. After all, good weather lures many people outside instead of in front of the PC.
However, in recent months, the numbers have significantly dropped. We show you what PUBG and Fortnite might have to do with it.
Fewer users, fewer players
Data analysis: On Twitter, the account of Steam Spy, a source for data analyses of Steam games, states that the platform’s numbers are declining.
“The number of people playing games on Steam or even just using Steam has been declining since January 2018. The share of users who play is also decreasing, from 38% to 31%.”
After new highs: Is a low coming?
Over 18 million: In January 2018, Steam had a record number of users. More than 18.5 million people were recorded in the SteamDB database on January 14, 2018. Then it went up and down repeatedly, but more down.
- The 18 million users on the weekend held until March 2018
- By the end of March 2018, only 17 million users were recorded as a weekend peak
- By the end of April 2018, the trend was moving towards 16 million users
- On weekends in May 2018, there were regularly 16 million users online. This continued until the beginning of July
- Exception on June 23 and 24 – More than 17 million users were online. This was the first weekend after the launch of the Steam Summer Sale 2018
- Since July, the numbers have been dropping even more sharply. On the last Sunday, July 29, there were only just under 15 million users online at peak times
- About 3.5 million users have therefore been lost since January
January 2018 was a record month: In the graph, you can also see that January 2018 brought particularly high numbers for Steam. In January 2017, the peaks were around 14 million players. About 4 million fewer than in January 2018.
The record height in January this year can be explained by the fact that PUBG left Early Access at the end of December and launched successfully. PUBG became a kind of “ultimate Steam game” in 2017.
PUBG – Likely playing an important role
Big hype at launch: The release of PUBG was celebrated by many players. The Battle Royale was well-received in Early Access and broke player records on Steam. Many wanted to be there for the launch.
It is therefore not unlikely that many gamers installed the Steam software and became part of the community just because of PUBG.
Important part of the record: When Steam recorded 18.5 million players on January 14, 2018, a solid 3.1 million of those were PUBG players. The peak of PUBG’s player numbers was 3.2 million on January 13.
Going downhill again: PUBG’s player numbers have steadily decreased since the peak for months. Currently, the active players number around 1.2 million. Compared to the peak, this is a loss of 2 million players. More than half of the 3.5 million players that Steam has recorded since January 2018 have been lost.
Fortnite – Are the Steam users here?
A new boom: In addition to the decline of PUBG, there’s a second phenomenon: the rise of Fortnite. This has been happening since January 2018.
When the Battle Royale mode of Fortnite was released in September 2017, it didn’t interest many people. But as the months went by, more and more players dived into the free BR game. Fortnite picked up speed continuously towards the end of 2017 and has been unstoppable since the beginning of 2018.
Google Trends shows the search inquiries for Fortnite; starting from January 2018, the significant upswing began, which has continued ever since.
Everyone wanted to try Fortnite. The colorful alternative to PUBG has no entry price. Anyone who wants to try Battle Royale can do so for free in the version from Epic Games. But not on Steam, rather in its own launcher.
It is suspected that many Steam users are now online at Fortnite instead.
Brawlhalla employee: Fortnite affects everything
Fortnite is to blame for Steam numbers: In response to the tweet from Steam Spy discussing the low numbers on Steam, Matt Woomer spoke up. He is Managing Director at Mammoth Games, the creators of the free fighting game “Brawlhalla.” He says:
“The main reason [for the declining numbers on Steam] is Fortnite. Other possible explanations are Fortnite, Fortnite, or maybe Fortnite. With Brawlhalla, we see jumps in our numbers depending on seasons, updates, and the server status of Fortnite.”
Influence of Fortnite: According to Matt Woomer, it is therefore clear that Fortnite has a significant impact on the user numbers of games on Steam and thus the total count.
Is it the same for Fortnite fans among you? Is Steam just an alternative when nothing is happening in Fortnite?
