There’s an interesting website called SteamDB, which I’ve referenced once before, that contains an enormous wealth of information on video games released on Steam such as their price history, which games have seen a surge of players, a rating system that builds off of and is more accurate than on Steam itself etc. However, one of the most interesting pieces of information is a history of the concurrent player numbers for any particular game. Often games, particularly single-player ones, will see their greatest concurrent player count at the time of its release with slight bumps around the times when it goes on sale. However, I’ve noticed a few single-player video games that have seen their concurrent player count grow beyond what a simple sale could hope to achieve. Therefore, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at these examples.
1. Celeste
I recently mentioned how I was playing Celeste so it only makes sense that I begin with the game that gave me this topic in the first place. Celeste, an indie precision platformer, is a superb but very challenging game whose bonus levels such as the C-sides and Chapter 9 push your platforming skills to the absolute limit. Having found it a profound experience, both from a storytelling perspective and how brutal but well-designed its gameplay was, I was curious to see how it was performing. Imagine my surprise when I saw something that proved to be highly unusual, an example of a single-player video game that had seen its concurrent player count grow, something rare in the games industry. I would consider this accomplishment a clear sign of the quality of the game.
2. Slay the Spire
Now we come to the only example today that I have not played. Slay the Spire never particularly appealed to me even though I own it now from a Humble Bundle but its proven to be a game that has done really well and is often hailed as one of the best roguelike games in recent years. This popularity can easily be seen on SteamDB where we’ve seen Slay the Spire exceed the numbers it achieved at its release, notably a few times within the past year. It’s clear that the game has proven popular among fans of roguelikes and that, most importantly, its popularity continues to endure.
3. Hollow Knight
I love Metroidvanias and Hollow Knight is definitely one of the better ones. In fact, I believe it to be the game that got me interested in the Metroidvania genre and so it’s only fitting that a game that proves to be such a strong example of the genre is included here. From its tight platforming to its hauntingly beautiful visuals to its addictive exploration aided by newly found abilities, it’s amazing how it has proven to be as long-lasting as this. Since its release in 2017, Hollow Knight’s popularity has continued to grow and grow, something which has only fed into the fervent desire for its upcoming sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong.
4. Stardew Valley
I was debating whether to include Stardew Valley as an update did enable the game to be played in multiplayer but, considering that it started as a single-player game, I thought it’d be ok to include. Stardew Valley took what was a relatively niche genre, a farming simulator with role-playing elements, and became one of the biggest success stories in the past decade! Becoming one of the most popular games on Steam has been helped with the quality of the game, the dedication of the community and the major updates that are released for free and introduce a massive amount of new content.
5. Plants vs. Zombies
The last game I want to take a look at is one that is very near and dear to my heart. Plants vs. Zombies is one of the best tower defense games that I’ve played and it was one of the earliest games that I played on Steam. The direction the franchise took after that fantastic first game isn’t one that I’m fond of (thanks, EA) but any success it can achieve I think is well-deserved. Now the chart for this game is, to me at least, the most interesting. You can see that it had a very strong first few years of its life before mellowing out. Then, all of a sudden, the popularity of the game exploded in early 2020 and, while it has seen some sharp declines at times, the peak concurrent player count was achieved, at the time of this article, a mere seven months ago! I don’t know why it suddenly got a second wind but I’ll always be happy to see a great game get rediscovered by a larger audience.
The longevity of multiplayer games is something that is quite often talked about but its also clear that single-player games are similarly capable of this accomplishment as long as they are of high-quality, have a large amount of, sometimes replayable, content and a devoted fanbase. Seeing these types of games achieve success is always something that proves to be reassuring to someone like me who predominantly prefers single-player games. Let me know your thoughts on these single-player video games that have seen their concurrent player count grow, what other examples that you’re aware of, what you think some of the causes are (would really love to know why Plants vs. Zombies suddenly became so popular again), and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.