Steam, the leading digital game distribution platform for PC gamers, has shattered its own record for concurrent users, surpassing 40 million players for the first time. This milestone was reached over a weekend that coincided with the launch of Monster Hunter Wilds on February 28, 2025. During this period, Steam recorded an unprecedented 40,270,997 simultaneous users, eclipsing the previous high of 39.9 million set in February 2025.

According to SteamDB, Steam's concurrent user record, often seen as a barometer of Valve's platform success, has been broken nearly every month since May 2024. The concurrent peak has surged from 35.5 million to 40.2 million in just over six months. While this figure includes idle players—those with Steam open but not actively using it—the number of users engaged in gameplay has also reached a new high, increasing from 12.5 million to 12.8 million.

Steam experienced significant player peaks throughout 2024, breaking its record twice in March and again in July. The latest peak is largely attributed to the release of Monster Hunter Wilds, which achieved a 24-hour concurrent user peak of 1.38 million. Other popular titles like Counter-Strike 2, PUBG, Dota 2, and Marvel Rivals also saw impressive 24-hour peaks with 1.7 million, 819,541, 657,780, and 268,283 users, respectively.

Despite its popularity, Monster Hunter Wilds has received a 'mixed' user review rating on Steam, prompting Capcom to release official guidance addressing PC performance issues. Additionally, Capcom has revealed preliminary information about Monster Hunter Wilds Title Update 1, which will introduce an endgame social hub for players.

To enhance your Monster Hunter Wilds experience, explore our guides on what the game doesn't tell you, a comprehensive overview of all 14 weapon types, and our ongoing walkthrough. We also offer a multiplayer guide to help you play with friends and instructions on transferring your character from the open beta.

IGN's review of Monster Hunter Wilds awarded it an 8/10, noting, "Monster Hunter Wilds continues to smooth off the rougher corners of the series in smart ways, making for some extremely fun fights but also lacking any real challenge."