Most played games on Steam 2022, by average players per hour

First released in August 2012, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was the most popular game on the PC gaming platform Steam during 2022. The first-person shooter averaged almost 604 thousand players per hour. MOBA game Dota 2 was ranked first with over 466 thousand average players during the measured period.

Counter-Strike at the top

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) was in second place among the Steam games based on peak number of concurrent players on the online gaming platform in 2022. The game reached 1.1 million concurrent players at its peak in 2022. MMO Lost Ark came in first place with 1.3 million peak concurrent players. Third-ranked Dota 2 came third with over 1 million concurrent players. Both Counter-Strike and Dota 2 have been around for the better part of a decade - in fact, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Elden Ring are the only titles released in 2022 to make the top list. All other games in ranking have been released within the last few years and have managed to accumulate a loyal player base.

Steam undisputed number one

When you think of PC gaming, you automatically think of Steam. The platform, developed by Valve Corporation, had humble beginnings as a digital distribution platform for Valve to provide updates for its games. Fast forward a few years and Steam released over ten thousand games in 2021 alone and is showing no signs of slowing down. In 2021, the peak concurrent player count on the platform nearly reached 27 million for the first time, a significant increase from six million in 2012. It seems that while Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft battle it out for console supremacy, Steam remains the undisputed king of PC gaming.