Steam just hit a wild new milestone—over 40 million concurrent players for the first time ever—and yeah, Monster Hunter Wilds dropping on February 28, 2025, probably had a lot to do with it. I mean, the platform’s been on a tear lately, but this weekend? Bonkers. According to SteamDB, the peak hit 40,270,997 players, smashing the old record of 39.9 million from earlier in February. And it’s not just people leaving Steam open in the background either—the in-game player count jumped from 12.5 million to 12.8 million. That’s a lotta folks actually slaying monsters or blasting headshots.
This isn’t some fluke either. Steam’s been flexing hard all through 2024, breaking its concurrent player record almost every month since May. Back then, we were at 35.5 million, and now we’re cruising past 40 million in like, what, six months? Insane growth. Sure, Monster Hunter Wilds pulled in a massive 1.38 million players at its 24-hour peak, but don’t sleep on the usual suspects—Counter-Strike 2 had 1.7 million logged in, PUBG racked up 819,541, Dota 2 hit 657,780, and even Marvel Rivals snagged a solid 268,283. The platform’s just a juggernaut right now.
That said, Monster Hunter Wilds isn’t getting a flawless victory lap. It’s sitting at a “mixed” rating on Steam, and you can kinda see why—PC performance hasn’t been smooth for everyone. Capcom’s already out here dropping official guidance to help with the stutters and crashes, and they’ve teased Title Update 1, which is gonna toss in an endgame social hub. Fingers crossed that irons things out, ‘cause the game’s got serious potential.
If you’re jumping in—or thinking about it—there’s some stuff Monster Hunter Wilds doesn’t exactly scream at you from the get-go. I’d say start with our rundown of what the game doesn’t tell you; it’ll save you some headaches. Then, maybe peek at the guide to all 14 weapon types—picking the right one’s half the battle. Oh, and if you’re deep in already, we’ve got a walkthrough in progress that’s super detailed, plus a multiplayer guide for squadding up with your buddies. Played the beta? You can even transfer your character over—here’s how.
Steam’s killing it, Monster Hunter Wilds is a big part of the hype, and honestly, it’s just a damn good time to be a PC gamer. Let’s keep the momentum going—see you out there in the wilds!
