It’s the end of the year, and Steam is running down the games the most people played in 2021. To check out the entire expansive list, click the link here. Read below for some of the most surprising games Steam players invested their time into.
Starting out, news games like Valheim, New World, and the first season of Halo Infinite’s multiplayer top the list with more than 200,000 peak players. However, some old stand-bys also make appearances, such as Grand Theft Auto V, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Perhaps most surprising is Cyberpunk 2077 appearing in the top spot – somewhat shattering the illusion that CD Projekt Red’s most recent game was an overall disaster. At the very least, a ton of people are still playing Cyberpunk more than a year later.
With over 100,000 peak players, Capcom’s excellent Resident Evil Village makes an appearance, as does Farming Simulator 22 and Battlefield 2042. Games you might expect to see here are also accounted for, such as Among Us, Rocket League, Destiny 2, and Dead by Daylight.
Back 4 Blood, Phasmophobia, Sea of Thieves, and Final Fantasy XIV all stand out in the over 60,000 peak players listing. And not to be forgotten, Left 4 Dead 2, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Fallout 4, Dying Light, and Loop Hero all had big years, being played by more than 30,000 people in 2021.
While we’re here recognizing video game achievements in 2021, why not check out Game Informer‘s picks for the 10 best games of the year? Thinking about next year, here are the games we’re most excited to play in 2022.
