One Million Players: Dota 2 player count breaches 7 digits for the first time since 2019

Not bad for a “dead” game right? It seems as though for the first time in three years, Dota two has had 1 million concurrent players. The Dota 2 player count breached the seven digit milestone for the first time since 2019.

That would make Dota the highest played game on steam by concurrent players right behind Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This also put Dota way above other big titles. According to a screenshot by Reddit user UnholyPeanut, Dota had 1,001,911 players. This put it about 600,000 players above the next most popular game, PUBG, which had 414,355 concurrent players.

Dota 2 having this many players is massive. For a game that is almost ten years old now, to have this many people coming back to the game is nothing short of remarkable. Just a few days ago, the Dota 2 player count broke the 900,000 threshold with lots of people playing and/or returning to Dota. There could be a lot of reasons for people returning and there are probably several big factors.

For one, the introduction of the Swag Bag. As we reported earlier this week, the Swag bag included a variety of goodies for both new and returning players. People who have played ten games of Dota since the battlepass came out, are able to redeem a Free Arcana, a free battlepass or 24 levels, and a free 30 days of Dota Plus. This would obviously be a big draw for people, because who doesn’t love free stuff?

Another big reason is probably the International. Year after year the international brings back people who casually have followed professional Dota or who have a vested interest in the game. The level of competition perhaps convinces people to try their hand at getting better at the game, or just to try to have a fun couple of games by themselves or with their friends.

Whatever the reason for people’s return, it’s nice to see so many people playing the game again. Maybe the numbers will increase to surpass Counter-Strike even! For more Dota news and esports coverage, stick with us at esports.gg!

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