Remember how we used to pick up a game back in the 90s and the early 2000s? We were naturally drawn to it after watching previews, trailers, and even the stills on the back of the game cover. We were selecting and playing games purely out of liking and instinct, and those were indeed the good times. Sadly, those times are gone now. Since the advent of the internet, gamers started prioritizing review scores and the number of copies sold before deciding to buy a game.
We are living in an age when video game prices are going through the roof, so, understandably, people are evaluating their decisions before pulling the trigger. However, lately, I’ve been observing a trend among gamers that’s rising fast, even more than AAA games’ pricing. Yes, I’m talking about players obsessing over ‘player count,’ and it is becoming a curse that will haunt the gaming industry forever.
The Player Count Problem That’s Ruining Good Games
Any user can use the SteamDB platform or other third-party game player count trackers to do a quick health check on the live-service game, for instance, Fortnite, that they are playing or planning to play. It’s totally fine to check if enough players are playing the game before you play. This used to be the tradition before, and now it has evolved into something more dangerous and toxic.
If you are chronically online on popular social media platforms like me, you must have seen a post related to a game’s player count at least once. It has become an inevitable part of certain gamers’ lives to analyze and post player count for popular games (both single and multiplayer titles). Not just online gaming accounts, renowned streamers, and even video game journalists are actively considering and sharing posts about player counts every day.
If you don’t see a problem with this, let me give you some recent examples. The first game that comes to my mind is Highguard. It was hyped up at TGA 2026 and remained a mystery until its launch day. Highguard did have some interesting ideas, but it ended up as a decent game with enough room to grow. When gamers started posting the Highguard player count every day, we began to dig the grave for Highguard without even realizing it. Soon, the entire team behind Highguard was laid off.
Sure, the timing of the announcement went wrong. The devs could have opted for a closed beta instead of shadowdropping the game. However, I saw plenty of gamers online vigorously posting their declining player count and praying for the game’s downfall. The game could have turned out better over time, and that chance was robbed from them. This didn’t stop with Highguard; Marathon continues to be a victim of the player count trend, even when it is a solid game from Bungie.
Next, don’t even get me started on bringing up player counts for single-player games. It is completely natural for a story game to have a strong launch and then fade away in overall player count after some time. It doesn’t mean that the recently released single-player is a dead game.
It just means that players have completed the game and moved on to play the next one in their backlog. However, I still see many posts online that casually present the Steam Chart for a game that has been out for some time and claim it as a dead game for attention. It happened even with the smash hit Black Myth: Wukong, one of the best Souls-like games. In an age where devs are getting laid off for making a good game, we can’t deny that the player count trend is fanning these flames further.
Player Count Was Meant for Data, Not Defining a Game’s Worth
Let’s talk about the game that continues to have the highest player count every single day, Counter-Strike: 2. There have been many reports that a significant percentage of bots make it into the player count as well. If you don’t believe me, you can check out the latest video on the bot problem in CS2 from 3kliksphilip, a popular CS2 content creator. Now, don’t come at me with pitchforks! I’m not saying that CS2 is a dead game carried by bots.
I love playing CS2 with my friends every week and continue to sink countless hours into the game. It is an iconic title that continues to pull in some serious numbers to this day. The CS2 competitive scene is one of the main reasons behind it. But I have to say, there is a whole other skin trade market that many people aren’t aware of, which also equally attracts gamers.
So, a lot of content happens behind the scenes that drives the player count of even a successful game. And on top of it, we don’t know what percentage of the player count are actually real people and not bots.
As you can see here, it’s not even reliable data to begin with, and SteamDB only offers the concurrent player data from Steam. Take a look at the Arc Raiders player count. Steam isn’t the only platform that people play on; there are several other platforms and numerous storefronts. We don’t have the data from every single platform.
Even if we do have them all, you can understand why player count is a flawed metric used to inappropriately judge a game. And never forget the fact that it was never meant to be a metric for analyzing a game’s quality in the first place.
Instead of scouring the internet for complex and unreliable player count data charts, why not try installing the game you find interesting and give it a shot? If it’s not a free-to-play game and you are still on the fence, you can check out the gameplay or go through your favorite reviewer’s words before making a purchase.
Therefore, let’s not get excited to celebrate the death of a game over enjoying one. Gamers should always refrain from treating player count data as a review score to assess how good a game is. Rather, offer constructive criticism than encourage a game’s downfall. And lastly, let’s not forget that gaming will always be a subjective experience, just like reading a book or watching a movie/TV show.
In a nutshell, let’s not allow player count obsession to tear the industry apart. Gamers should always be ready to give games a chance to improve. Otherwise, the beloved gaming industry will reach a point beyond saving in the near future. That said, let us know your thoughts about the player count trend among gamers in the comments below.
Ishan Adhikary
