Updated on May 8th, 2019
One of the most important things players care about is whether a game is popular and worth investing their time into it. Well, rest assured, these are the most played games in 2019 have among the highest concurrent player numbers from 2019.
To create this list, we used a combination of GitHyp, Steam Charts, and official numbers. It’s not 100% infallible, but it does give us a pretty good idea.
10. Warframe – 161,908
Source: GitHyp
Warframe remains one of the most played games in 2019 having been ridiculously consistent over the past year, constantly updating and improving throughout. With 131,766 peak users, it continues to prove that the free-to-play model can find success if done correctly.
9. GTA V – 168,215
Source: GitHyp
It is likely that even when GTA VI is released, somehow Grand Theft Auto V will still continue to dominate concurrent players. With a solid average of around 60,000 players and a peak of 168,215, only a few off from the all-time peak of 170,591, Rockstar’s title continues to shine. Somehow, half a decade after its launch, GTAV is one of the most played games in 2019.
8. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege – 176,208
Source: GitHyp
Another 2015 title that is more popular now than ever, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege continues to impress. The online competitive shooter is constantly adding new characters and updates for free, showing Ubisoft’s commitment to long term development for its titles.
7. For Honor – 210,795
Source: GitHyp
The second Ubisoft title on this list, For Honor surprised many with its resurgence in 2018. With a peak concurrent player base of 210,795 players, this medieval competitive action game even managed to have more players than Rainbow Six Siege at many points throughout the year.
6. Monster Hunter: World – 329,333
Source: GitHyp
Monster Hunter: World is one the most played games of 2019 after it took the world by storm when it released in August 2018, jumping to the fourth most played title on Steam immediately with 329,333, making it the biggest launch of the year for the platform.
5. Hitman 2 – 359,772
Source: GitHyp
As a predominantly single-player title, it is amazing that Hitman 2 managed the player base that it did in 2018. Just a month after its release, over 359,772 players took the role of Agent 47 at once, donning colorful costumes and killing targets in unique ways.
4. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – 746,548
Source: GitHyp
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is where we start to see the games we’d expect to be at the top of the most played list for 2018. Alongside its usual rabid fanbase, CS: GO got a considerable boost in December when it released its new battle royale mode for free, netting a cool 746,548 peak players around the holidays. It’s likely to continue to be among the most played games in 2019.
3. Dota 2 – 844,713
Source: GitHyp
The only title that has managed to be as CS: GO over the years is the game that’s one slot ahead of it in 2018, Dota 2. While it may not be putting up the numbers it did in the past, with an all-time peak of 1.2 million, it is still ridiculously popular and has a huge esports presence.
2. PUBG – 3.2 million
Source: GitHyp, Steam Charts
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds started off 2018 with a bang, setting the record for peak players in January with 3.2 million at once. PUGB is accredited with starting the wildfire craze of adding battle royale’s to everything and is directly responsible for the number one title on the list. After a tremendous two years, PUBG remains one of the most played games in 2019.
1. Fortnite – 8.3 million
Source: Epic Games Korea
No surprise here, as 2018 was certainly the year of Fortnite. According to Epic Games, their battle royale shooter destroyed concurrent peak player base records this year with 8.3 million players on at once across multiple platforms.
Hopefully, you enjoyed this list of the most played games of 2019, ranked by highest concurrent player numbers. Check out our other lists for similar content, such as Top 34 Best Online Multiplayer Xbox One Games and 50 Best PS4 Multiplayer Games of All Time.
10. Warframe - 131,766
To create this list, we used a combination of GitHyp, Steam Charts, and official numbers. It's not 100% infallible, but it does give us a pretty good idea. Also, it's worth noting that if there's no way for us to check a game's player numbers, then we can't include it on the list. If you notice something very obvious missing, this is why.
Source: GitHyp
Warframe has been ridiculously consistent over the past year, constantly updating and improving throughout. With 131,766 peak users in the past twelve months, it continues to prove that the free-to-play model can find success if done correctly.
9. GTA V - 168,215
It is likely that even when GTA VI is released, somehow Grand Theft Auto V will still continue to dominate concurrent player counts. With a solid average of around 60,000 players and a peak of 168,215, only a few off from the all-time peak of 170,591, Rockstar's title continued to shine last year.
8. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege - 176,208
Another 2015 title that is more popular now than ever, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege continues to impress. This online competitive shooter is constantly adding new characters and updates for free.
Ubisoft's commitment to long term development for its titles certainly seems to be paying dividends.
7. For Honor - 210,795
The second Ubisoft title on this list, For Honor surprised many with its resurgence in 2018. While its peak concurrent count of 210,795 players was the result of a free weekend, the numbers have still increased dramatically and it eclipsed Ubisoft's other big multiplayer experience, Rainbow Six Siege, several times over the past twelve months.
6. Monster Hunter: World - 329,333
Monster Hunter: World took the world by storm when it released in August 2018, jumping to the fourth most played title on Steam immediately with 329,333 users, making it the biggest launch of the year for the platform. Its substantial community has stuck around into 2019 thanks to a constant flow of awesome content updates that look set to continue.
5. Hitman 2 - 359,772
As a predominantly single-player title, it is amazing that Hitman 2 managed the player base that it did last year. Just a month after its release, over 359,772 players took the role of Agent 47 at once, donning colorful costumes and killing targets in unique ways.
Developer IO Interactive has more content planned for 2019, so expect the community to continue thriving.
4. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive - 746,548
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is where we start to see the games we'd expect to be at the top of the most played list for 2018.
Alongside its usual rabid fanbase, CS: GO got a considerable boost in December when it released its new battle royale mode for free, netting a cool 746,548 peak players around the holidays.
3. Dota 2 - 844,713
The only title that has managed to be as consistent as CS: GO over the years is DOTA 2.
While it may not be putting up the numbers it did in the past, with an all-time peak of 1.2 million, it is still ridiculously popular and has a huge esports presence.
2. PUBG - 3.2 million
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds started off 2018 with a bang, setting the record for peak players in January with 3.2 million at once.
PUGB is accredited with starting the wildfire craze of adding battle royale's to everything and is directly responsible for the number one title on the list.
1. Fortnite - 8.3 million
No surprise here, as 2018 was certainly the year of Fortnite. According to Epic Games, their battle royale shooter destroyed concurrent peak player base records last year, more than doubling PUBG's record with 8.3 million players on at once across multiple platforms.
Thanks to the innovative Battle Pass seasons, there's always fresh new content coming to Fortnite, and so we expect it to continue dominating the multiplayer scene throughout 2019.
About the author
Andrew McMahon
Andrew was Twinfinite's Features Editor from 2020 through until March 2023 and wrote for the site from 2018. He has wandered around with a Bachelor's Degree in Communications sitting in his back pocket for a while now, all the while wondering what he is going to do for a career. Luckily, video games have always been there, especially as his writing career progresses.