Top 10 Steam MMOs With The Most Players

Let’s be honest. Most of us have a lot of games to play – particularly if we’re Steam users. After all, all those Humble Bundle offerings over the years have really added to our Pile of Shame. But, it’s a pretty good bet that most of those games are single-player or maybe co-op and sometimes you want to do something that feels bigger. You want to run around in a big world with a whole bunch of people who live there and go on big adventures together.

That’s where MMOs come in. Of course, finding the right MMO can be tricky, and not just because you have to find the right genre for you. With so many MMOs out there, one of the trickier things is finding one that has a good-sized population. Some things are impossible to do without other players, like PvP and raids. And sometimes it’s just nice to meet other people in the game and team up for a while on a few missions. That’s much more difficult when there’s no one around.

But, what if you want to keep your gaming on Steam, rather than downloading some random MMO client? Actually, that could work out in your favor, since Steam's player numbers are tracked and easily accessible on SteamDB. If nothing else, it gives you an idea of the game’s minimum population. You can assume there are more people using the game’s client or playing on other platforms.

Using that logic, we decided to put together a list of the 10 MMOs on Steam with the highest player counts. Since “MMO” can be a pretty broad group these days, we did use some criteria. The games have to have a whole lot of players in the same world and they need some sort of RPG element – even if it’s the players making the story. We avoided things like team shooters and other match-based games. And these are the results.

Also one other thing of note. The list has two sets of numbers for each: current and peak. The “current” number fluctuates pretty rapidly. So be aware that these are the numbers as they stood when we made the list.

The First Descendant

128,965 Current, 264,860 Peak

One of the new kids on the block, Nexon’s The First Descendant may have mixed reviews on Steam it’s still pulling in the players. The MMO shooter dropped as a free-to-play offering at the end of June and offers players the option of going at it alone or exploring the world with other players in co-op missions. It also boasts four-player boss fights.

Rust

128,260 Current, 173,651 Peak

Rust is an open-world survival game from Facepunch Studios. The only in-game goal is to survive, which means the RP part of RPG comes from the players themselves. Just be careful not to be too trusting, other players can be just as dangerous as nature. The game boasts a “very positive” review score, so it must be doing something right.

Destiny 2

265,909 Current, 163,348 Peak

Another MMO shooter, Destiny 2’s been around for a while now. It’s a looter shooter developed by Bungie – which means there’s a clear focus on storytelling. If you’re a fan of Bungie, it’s worth a try.

Palworld

46,330 Current, 143,308 Peak

Dubbed “Pokemon with guns”, Palworld is a multiplayer, open-world survival and crafting game. Only, you’re not doing all the crafting on your own, you’re capturing “Pals” and having them do it for you. Actually, the Pals can be used for all kinds of work. They fight, farm, and work in factories. All the while, they’re at risk from a poaching syndicate.

As silly as it sounds, the game is pretty popular and has solid reviews.

Final Fantasy XIV

43,208 Current, 91,883 Peak

It’s Final Fantasy, gang. If you like traditional JRPGs turned MMO, then yes, Final Fantasy XIV is where you need to be. One thing you can be sure of with this game is that the actual player base is bigger than what you’re looking at here. It’s one game a lot of players don’t want to deal with on Steam because the systems don’t always get along.

Warframe

40,010 Current, 80,342 Peak

Warframe's another well-liked game whose population is definitely going to be bigger than the numbers you’re seeing here. A sci-fi shooter, the game boasts an interesting narrative and a wide selection of class types for players to collect and play as.

Lost Ark

29,792 Current, 32,987 Peak

Developed by Smilegate and published by Amazon, Lost Ark is what you get when you turn an ARPG into an MMO, with a vast story in a fantasy land. If Final Fantasy XIV isn’t your flavor of fantasy MMO, Lost Ark might be. As it’s a massive ARPG it offers players more customization when it comes to how their characters play. And, as an added bonus, it offers several accessibility features, something many older games may not.

Black Desert

17,546 Current, 24,029 Peak

For a buy-to-play game, Black Desert is one of the cheapest MMORPGs on the market. (The base game is .99 cents on Steam right now. It’s one of the prettiest too. Black Desert is an action MMORPG with quite a few deep features. In fact, there’s so much going on here that it can be a little daunting coming back to the game after a while away – if for no reason than that it’s really easy to forget how everything works. But if it hooks you, and you stay, you’re going to have a good time.

The Elder Scrolls Online

14,291 Current 19,884 Peak

This one is for fans of The Elder Scrolls Games. According to the developers, there are more than 22 million players of TESO, that said you can never be sure if that’s people playing now or just people with accounts. We do know the player count on Steam is nowhere near that high, but like every other MMORPG out there, there is a dedicated game launcher and it’s guaranteed there are even more players using that. Even though the current player count isn’t terribly high via Steam, the game does boast very positive reviews on the platform.

Fallout 76

76 13,025 Current, 28,356 Peak

Fallout 76 had a rough start several years back, but in that time, Bethesda has managed to pull everything together. Now the post-apocalyptic game boasts a solid player base. Players can enjoy all the post-nuclear activities, like fighting off mutants, cryptids, and other players. They can also make their own home in the wasteland. Of course, that home may be blown up by someone else. But that’s the risk if you leave the Vaults.

And there you have it, ten of the most-played MMOs on Steam. Of course, there are plenty of other options on the platform as well. So if none of these strike your fancy, don’t be afraid to poke around.