Steam tops 7 million concurrent users

By Ryan Fleming December 2, 2013

steam hits 7 million concurrent users

On December 1, Steam set a new record for itself, claiming an astounding 7,190,579 users online and connected at one time, according to its own stat tracking page (and as recounted by PCWorld).

Thanksgiving has traditionally been a good time for Steam. Last year at roughly the same time, the platform recorded new high of 6,047,207 concurrent users. Since then the number has increased gradually, until reaching the new high water mark on Sunday, December 1. The stats don’t differentiate between who is actively using the platform compared to those just logged on, but the number is staggering regardless.

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Earlier this year Steam recorded another personal best when it announced that 65 million accounts had been created, marking a 30-percent increase over the number of users in 2012. With the Steam Machines looming, you can expect that number to grow.

One reason for the spike in traffic is thanks to Steam’s Autumn Sale, which began on November 27 and continues through December 3. Some games are discounted as much as 90-percent. This year’s Tomb Raider, for example, is marked down 80-percent and can be had for just $9.99, if you act quickly. Deals rotate frequently, so check back often.

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This jaw-dropping puzzler just became my most anticipated game of 2023

A room appears in both color and black and white in Viewfinder.

Whenever I go hands-on with a game at a preview event, I try to maintain a bit of a poker face. I’m ultimately there to do a job, so I tend to stay focused on what I’m playing and quietly work through my first impressions in real time. That routine went entirely out the window the second I got my hands on Viewfinder, a game that quite literally had my jaw hanging open for 20 minutes.
Viewfinder | Announcement Trailer | PC & PS5 | 2023
If the title isn’t ringing a bell, there’s a chance you may have seen Viewfinder on Twitter at some point. In 2020, developer Matt Stark shared an impressive work-in-progress video that showed a character taking a 2D polaroid photo and then walking into it, seamlessly turning a flat image into a full 3D space. Three years later, that neat trick has become a complete game – one that has me in utter disbelief. If the final build is as magical as what I played at this year’s Game Developers Conference, we could be looking at an all-time great puzzle game.
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Within seconds of my Viewfinder demo, I find myself shouting “No way!” out loud. The basic gist is that it’s a level-based puzzle game where players need to solve objectives by taking still photographs and placing them in the environment. On a DualSense controller, the left trigger holds a photo up while the right trigger places it. No matter where a photo is placed, it’ll instantly turn into a fully explorable 3D space within the world. I’ve seen the trick in various videos at this point, but playing is truly believing in Viewfinder. It’s an astonishing feat.
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Every puzzle the demo threw at me felt entirely distinct and like it could be solved in a variety of ways. A PR person for publisher Thunderful noted that the game is almost like Portal in some way, where players need to learn how to “think with photos.” I learn exactly what that means when one puzzle has me trying to reach a rooftop that’s too high for me to jump to. I find a photo of a building nearby and initially don’t get what to do. That’s when it hits me: I can rotate the photo and line the building up, so it acts as a walkable ramp leading to the roof. Every time I place a photo, I’m shocked by how perfect the effect is. It feels truly impossible.
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Play Flight Simulator? Save $50 on this joystick and throttle

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Whether you're training to become a pilot or you just like playing Star Wars: Squadrons, a flight stick will make your experience a hundred times better. Gaming PC deals can hook you up with a powerful computer for playing Microsoft Flight Simulator on its highest setting, and Dell can hook you up with the Logitech Saitek HOTAS joystick and throttle combo for only $130. That's because it's currently $50 off.

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