Games That Reached Peak Players Years After Release

Years after a game has come out, it can grow into something previously unfathomable. Instead of going quietly into the night, some games turn into comeback stories that reach new peaks. To seasoned gamers, these redemption arcs affirm the old proverb: "Time reveals the truth."

For better or for worse, video games are long, arduous projects that can take years to finish, even after they officially launch. Developers may end up pouring years and years into polishing every little detail to turn games that flopped into games that truly shine. Even games that are successful upon their release can gain or lose considerable amounts of players, depending on how it is or isn't updated.

Games can go through different popularity cycles depending on genre and marketing. Competitive games spike in active players when ranked ladders reset. MMORPGs spike in active players around expansion releases. Social games might grab more attention when influencers pick up the game. These cyclical forces sometimes align to produce a new golden era for that game's active player count. Here are some true gaming comeback stories.

Rockstar's western epic, "Red Dead Redemption 2," was released on October 26, 2018. More than four years after its release, it reached a new all-time high of concurrent players on Steam when it registered 70,787 virtual cowboys. This early 2023 spike surpasses the initial wave of players from the game's release. Surprisingly, this new heyday happened right after Rockstar announced it no longer will provide major updates to "Red Dead Redemption 2 Online." So, what explains this comeback?

Well, everyone loves a Steam sale, especially when games as strong as "Red Dead Redemption 2" are up for a good deal. Steam's Boxing Day and Christmas sales events in late 2022 offered "Red Dead Redemption 2" at 70% off, which brought in a ton of newbies. Another contributing factor was Google's decision to shut down Stadia's servers in late 2022. Rockstar allowed players to transfer the earned goods in their Stadia accounts to Steam accounts at the end of 2022. The timing of this event lines up perfectly with the influx of players on Steam in early 2023. Lastly, the holiday season, filled with gift-giving and time-off, provided a window where all these factors coalesced into the biggest day in "Red Dead Redemption 2" history.

Developed and released by Valve all the way back in 2007, "Team Fortress 2" has stood the test of time in a crowded FPS market. The original hero-shooter, "Team Fortress 2" still receives updates to keep it relevant.

At one point in 2012, "Team Fortress 2" averaged around 70,000 concurrent players. Nearly a decade later, in 2021, "Team Fortress 2" reached 150,037 concurrent players on Steam. Another push in December 2022 reached 147,868 players, just short of breaking its own record once again.

Keeping players interested in the same FPS for more than 15 years is no small feat. Maintaining that attention is only possible with a well-polished game that is fed new content by both the devs and the player community. That is exactly the formula "Team Fortress 2" follows. In fact, its wave of popularity in late 2022 and early 2023 could partially be explained by the unique content it has planned for Summer 2023. A blog post from Valve confirms that user-created content submitted through the Steam Workshop will be chosen to be included in a future update. If that is not considered "listening to your players," then what is?

More than a decade after its initial release in 2012, "CS:GO" is still setting concurrent player records on Steam. In February 2023, the hardcore shooter reached a new all-time high with 1,354,248 concurrent players.

The sustained popularity of "CS:GO" largely matches up with its reputation of being the most hardcore FPS game on the market. If players want to truly test their gaming mettle, the lobbies of "CS:GO" are the place to be. This competitive core of "CS:GO" is most readily found in its ever-growing esports scene. The IEM Katowice championship, hosted in 2020, peaked at over 1 million concurrent viewers. Another contributing factor in the game's sustained popularity is the way it embraces its celebrity players and its memes. For example, Denzel Curry's track used in many fan montages, "Ultimate," was added as an official music kit in 2023.

"Valorant," the FPS designed by Riot Games, is considered "CS:GO's" closest competitor at this point. Its release in 2020 introduced many new players to "CS:GO" style shooters. One might expect that the release of "Valorant" release ate into the market share of players dominated by "CS:GO." However, "CS:GO" has only grown in popularity since 2020. It could be that "Valorant" instead acted as a pipeline to "CS:GO." In any case, "CS:GO" continues to dominate the hardcore FPS market.

Released back in December 2015, "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege" put its own spin on the hero-shooter genre, and has since fulfilled a niche for FPS players caught somewhere in between "CS:GO" and "Overwatch."

In February 2021, "Rainbow Six Siege" peaked on Steam with 199,830 concurrent players. That barely topped its previous best, which was 198,567 concurrent players a year prior in March of 2020. "Rainbow Six Siege" has remained relevant through its esports scene, but that doesn't quite explain the sudden jump in active players after years of steady decline. Instead, the game's surge in popularity, more than 6 years after its release, can most likely be explained by clever marketing.

Ubisoft hosted a free-to-play event to kick off the sixth year of "Rainbow Six Siege," giving players unlimited access to all 59 of the game's operators at the time. Shortly after, Ubisoft sold "Rainbow Six Siege" at a 67% discount. This confluence of events, layered on top of a healthy esports scene, finally gave "Rainbow Six Siege" its time in the limelight, years after its release.

When "Among Us" first released in 2018, it didn't make much of a splash in the gaming industry, averaging less than 100 concurrent players on most days. Being at the right place at the right time counts, and there is perhaps no better example in gaming than "Among Us." During the outbreak of COVID-19, when many people found themselves quarantined in their homes, "Among Us" allowed people to reconnect with each other.

"Among Us" had the fastest blow-up and the most severe decline of any game on this list. At its peak on Steam, "Among Us" had 438,524 concurrent players in August 2020. A month later, game developer Innersloth tweeted that "Among Us" servers hit over 1.5 million concurrent players across all platforms, meaning many more people were playing on platforms other than PC. 

Just a year after its surge in popularity, however, "Among Us" was back down to around 15,000 concurrent players on Steam. Even so, "Among Us" provided the gaming industry with one of its most unforgettable success stories and acted as a lifeline for gamers everywhere during an uncertain time.

"Roblox" is one of the most unique, and most played, games in the entire industry. "Roblox" itself is less of a game than it is a game-building and sharing platform. By giving its players the tools to create and share their own games, "Roblox" has created an unstoppable train that has only gained more and more steam as time goes on. Its kid-friendly nature and support from popular streamers like Briana Arsement and Tofuu opened up its doors to the widest possible audience.

When it comes to "Roblox," precise numbers for exact daily or monthly active users are hard to come by. However, according to a report that compiled tracking estimates and Roblox Corporation's own published data, the game's monthly active users have seen sharp increases every year since 2016. 

In February 2016, an estimated 9 million users logged into "Roblox." Two years later, in September 2018, that number grew to 70 million monthly active users. In daily active user terms, "Roblox" had more than 43 million players in late 2021, making it one of the most-played games across the world. The latest data reported in 2023 estimated that "Roblox" brings in more than 214 million monthly active players. With no signs of slowing down in 2023, "Roblox" is likely to continue reaching new peaks in active players.

"Final Fantasy 14" is one of the shining stars of the MMORPG genre. Released in 2010, it only truly blossomed in the late 2010s and early 2020s, following an overhaul and plenty of updates. 

"Final Fantasy XIV" was averaging only around 5,000 daily active players between 2014-2016, but momentum picked up in 2019, when the game hit just over 40,000 daily active players on Steam. But 2021 was the real big year for the game. The "Endwalker" expansion drove more players to Square Enix's servers than ever before. November 2021 saw a peak of 95,102 daily active players, more than double its previous high from 2019. 

It should be mentioned that these figures only account for the PC population that is playing through Steam. The game's community on PS4, PS5, and its dedicated PC launcher are not counted in this statistic. With that in mind, the game's popularity seems to only be gaining momentum over time. Maybe the follow-up expansion to "Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker" can set a new record in the future.