Even though the PC platform is not really the go-to option for gamers these days due to rising component prices, Steam seems to be successfully overturning the notion with record player count. While the rest of its competitors are not doing that great.
Earlier this week, Epic Games had to make an announcement with a blog post revealing that they are laying off over a thousand employees. Something that was unimaginable from the creators behind Unreal Engine and Fortnite.
Even though the future is full of uncertainty, with Valve’s next hardware seemingly finding itself in the middle of a massive problem, and the supply of components being hogged by AI tech. Steam still seems to be safe and on the other side of the fence, at least on paper.
Steam concurrent player count went above 42.3 million
Aside from major game releases, which usually top player count charts on the platform, Steam is also well known for constantly breaking its all-time player count. Just four months back, the company had reached a reported 42 million concurrent player count.
According to a new report from TechPowerUp, it seems like Steam has done it yet again, breaking it’s own records. Steam DB reported that the platform peaked at a player count of 42,318,602 users on March 22, 2026.
Tim Sweeny, the CEO of Epic Games, in the past has used his social media account to shoot at Steam’s practices with numerous claims that have been debunked. This news appeared right at a time when Epic Games is at their lowest and employees are facing layoffs.
Social Media users took to chance to take a jab Tim Sweeny
Immidate comparisons between the two platforms popped up on social medias such as Twitter/X. People came out to slam the Creators of Fortnite for removing certain game modes and raising the prices of V bucks all the while leting go of people.
Users did not forget to slam Tim Sweeny under his tweets for justifying cost cutting by firing employees. Some users used old memes to bring back the recurring rhetoric of how Valve does absolutely nothing and still keeps winning.
Regardless while we celebrate PC gaming’s long and healthy life its sad to see some of the minds behind Fortnite, one of the best Battle Royale games from last decade, be treated like this. The common gamer hopes to see more stability in future where the industry does not have to incurr any more layoffs.
