Despite strong competition from the Epic Games Store and various subscription services, Steam continues to dominate without any slowdown.

The platform set a new record for the number of players connected simultaneously on Sunday, October 12, after Battlefield 6 attracted more than 41 million active players at the same moment.

Since its launch in 2003 as a tool to make it easier to download and update Valve games, Steam has gradually evolved into the largest platform for PC gaming.

With the subsequent addition of independent projects, the player base began to grow rapidly, surpassing the one million mark in 2008, then 24 million during the 2020 pandemic, before exceeding 40 million in 2025.