Most played on Steam in 2012

Ranked by average concurrent players over the 6 months we have. The change compares the year before.

Month by month

The most played game of each month. Open a month for its full report.

July 2012Dota 252,721 players on average August 2012Team Fortress 261,561 players on average September 2012Dota 261,868 players on average October 2012Dota 275,965 players on average November 2012Dota 2101,077 players on average December 2012Dota 2121,924 players on average

Top 50 of 2012

#	Game	Avg. players	Peak	Change	Was
1	Dota 2	78,221	213,521	new	—
2	Team Fortress 2	48,488	117,917	new	—
3	Counter-Strike	31,195	61,189	new	—
4	Counter-Strike: Source	22,907	48,007	new	—
5	Sid Meier's Civilization® V	22,364	50,891	new	—
6	Borderlands 2	20,625	123,596	new	—
7	Counter-Strike: Global Offensivenow Counter-Strike 2	11,894	52,261	new	—
8	Left 4 Dead 2	9,096	48,599	new	—
9	Garry's Mod	7,324	22,009	new	—
10	Torchlight II	7,229	54,010	new	—
11	XCOM: Enemy Unknown	5,536	70,560	new	—
12	Terraria	4,911	16,097	new	—
13	PlanetSide 2	4,617	29,449	new	—
14	Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition	4,515	9,497	new	—
15	Fallout: New Vegas	4,178	12,756	new	—
16	Saints Row: The Third	3,645	24,553	new	—
17	Mount & Blade: Warband	3,290	7,919	new	—
18	Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead	3,072	7,580	new	—
19	Stronghold Kingdoms	3,063	4,929	new	—
20	Dungeon Defenders	2,944	12,467	new	—
21	Killing Floor	2,894	9,282	new	—
22	The Binding of Isaac	2,623	8,860	new	—
23	Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3 (2011)	2,537	6,504	new	—
24	APB Reloaded	2,511	4,876	new	—
25	Portal 2	2,420	8,857	new	—
26	Hitman: Absolution™	2,258	26,039	new	—
27	FTL: Faster Than Light	2,125	17,537	new	—
28	Total War: NAPOLEON – Definitive Edition	1,946	4,650	new	—
29	Dishonored	1,816	19,930	new	—
30	Counter-Strike: Condition Zero	1,654	3,466	new	—
31	Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition	1,575	6,904	new	—
32	Star Trek Online	1,543	3,218	new	—
33	Crusader Kings II	1,539	4,011	new	—
34	Far Cry 3	1,461	18,451	new	—
35	Sleeping Dogs	1,452	12,032	new	—
36	Call of Duty®: Black Ops II	1,439	18,202	new	—
37	Just Cause 2	1,425	7,346	new	—
38	Call of Duty®: Black Ops	1,367	3,245	new	—
39	PAYDAY™ The Heist	1,304	14,512	new	—
40	The Lord of the Rings Online™	1,294	3,229	new	—
41	DC Universe™ Online	1,287	3,112	new	—
42	Day of Defeat: Source	1,255	2,945	new	—
43	Spiral Knights	1,162	2,944	new	—
44	Orcs Must Die! 2	1,160	11,371	new	—
45	Chivalry: Medieval Warfare	1,108	8,527	new	—
46	ENDLESS Space™ - Definitive Edition	1,070	10,150	new	—
47	The Walking Dead	1,027	7,637	new	—
48	Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2 (2009)	996	2,231	new	—
49	Realm of the Mad God Exalt	974	2,558	new	—
50	Train Simulator Classic	937	3,338	new	—

Biggest launches of 2012

Average players in the best of their first three months.

Average and peak concurrent players per month from SteamCharts, used with permission; a year is ranked by its average over the months we have. Covers every game with live players today and every notable game (with a Wikipedia article) even if nobody plays it any more.