PUBG: Battlegrounds
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PUBG player count: 809,926 on Steam on Oct. 23, No. 3 and above last October after Update 43.2
PUBG: Battlegrounds peaked at 809,926 concurrent players on Steam on Oct. 23, 2026, according to Valve's most played chart, which ranked Krafton's battle royale No. 3 for another week, behind Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2. At 4:04 a.m. ET on Oct. 24, 487,758 people were playing it on Steam. October's peak already beats the October 2025 high of 750,442, and the jump came with Update 43.2 on Oct. 14, when the daily Steam peak rose from 643,256 to 784,258 as the SLB: Dawnbreakers of Rondo zombie mode and the PUBG x Bentley collaboration went live. The 2026 high is 1,290,870 in March, and the all-time Steam record is more than 3.2 million, set in January 2018.
- PC
- PS5
- Xbox Series X|S
PUBG: Battlegrounds holds third place on Steam and runs ahead of last fall. Here’s how many people play it, what lifted October and what comes next for the game and its pro scene.
How many people play PUBG? PUBG: Battlegrounds peaked at 809,926 concurrent players on Steam on Oct. 23, 2026, according to Valve’s most played chart, which ranked it No. 3, the same spot as a week earlier. At 4:04 a.m. ET on Oct. 24, 487,758 people were playing it on Steam.
Steam is one storefront. The count leaves out PlayStation, Xbox and the Epic Games Store, and Krafton doesn’t publish a combined live number.
PUBG player count by month
| Period | Steam peak | Average players |
|---|---|---|
| January 2018 | More than 3.2 million | All-time record |
| March 2025 | 1,329,605 | 345,527 |
| October 2025 | 750,442 | 266,559 |
| March 2026 | 1,290,870 | 327,213 |
| August 2026 | 771,621 | 321,321 |
| September 2026 | 788,224 | 306,927 |
| Oct. 23, 2026 | 809,926 | No. 3 on Valve’s chart |
March is PUBG’s big month two years running: March 2025 hit 1,329,605, the highest monthly peak since July 2018, and March 2026 reached 1,290,870. From May to September 2026, the monthly peak held between 771,621 and 822,338. September’s average of 306,927 players at any moment ran about 10% above September 2025’s 278,096.
What lifted PUBG in October. The daily Steam peak slipped to 600,354 on Oct. 5, then jumped from 643,256 on Oct. 13 to 784,258 on Oct. 14, the day Update 43.2 reached PC. Consoles got the update on Oct. 22. It brought three draws:
- SLB: Dawnbreakers of RondoA co-op mode for up to four players against the Hungers across six Rondo locations, with crafting, Generators and a final defense of the Capacitor.
- PUBG x BentleyWith Flying Spur Mulliner sedan and Continental GTC Mulliner convertible skins and a Bentley container on the starting islands.
- Message Radial upgrades, matching vehicle spawns in Normal and Ranked on six maps, six Motor Gliders per map and seven Special Vehicle Skin slots, up from three.
The Steam peak has stayed above 760,000 every day since, and the Oct. 23 high is October’s best.
How PUBG compares on Steam
| Game | Chart rank, Oct. 23 | Steam peak, Oct. 23 |
|---|---|---|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 1 | 1,274,983 |
| Dota 2 | 2 | 987,282 |
| PUBG: Battlegrounds | 3 | 809,926 |
| Deadlock | 5 | 233,703 |
| Apex Legends | 6 | 225,732 |
| Call of Duty | 7 | 198,308 |
| WARDOGS | 9 | 181,818 |
PUBG drew more than three times the players of Respawn’s battle royale, as our Apex Legends player count page shows, and trails Valve’s shooter, covered on our CS2 player count page. Only Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2 and PUBG passed 800,000 on Oct. 23.
The PGS 11 Final Stage runs Oct. 24 and 25, a week after Virtus.pro won PGS 10. PGS 12 follows with the Survival Stage on Oct. 29 and the Grand Finals from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, which settles the eight PGS Points spots at the PUBG Global Championship 2026, Dec. 1 to 13 in Istanbul. In the game, SLB: Dawnbreakers of Rondo runs on PC until 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 3, and the Bentley items sell on PC until 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 10.
This page is updated as soon as Valve’s chart posts PUBG’s Saturday and Sunday peaks or Krafton ships its next update.
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FAQ
How many people play PUBG?
PUBG: Battlegrounds peaked at 809,926 concurrent players on Steam on Oct. 23, 2026, according to Valve’s most played chart, and 487,758 were playing at 4:04 a.m. ET on Oct. 24. Players on PlayStation, Xbox and the Epic Games Store come on top of that.
What is PUBG's all-time peak on Steam?
More than 3.2 million concurrent players in January 2018, the month after the game’s full release on Steam in December 2017. That record still stands as one of the highest in Steam history.
Is PUBG dying?
PUBG still ranks No. 3 on Valve’s most played chart, and its October 2026 peak of 809,926 beats the October 2025 high of 750,442. The average player count in September 2026 ran about 10% above September 2025.
Why did PUBG's player count go up in October?
Update 43.2 reached PC on Oct. 14, 2026, with the SLB: Dawnbreakers of Rondo zombie mode and the PUBG x Bentley collaboration. The daily Steam peak rose from 643,256 on Oct. 13 to 784,258 on Oct. 14.
Where does PUBG rank on Steam?
PUBG: Battlegrounds ranked No. 3 on Valve’s most played chart for Oct. 23, 2026, the same spot as a week earlier, behind Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2.
Does the Steam player count include consoles?
Steam only counts Steam players. PUBG: Battlegrounds also runs on PlayStation, Xbox and the Epic Games Store on PC, and Krafton doesn’t publish a combined live count. PUBG Mobile is a separate game.
Is PUBG free?
Yes. PUBG: Battlegrounds has been free to play since Jan. 12, 2022, with paid cosmetics, passes and collaboration items.
When does SLB: Dawnbreakers of Rondo end?
On PC, the co-op zombie mode runs until 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. On consoles, it runs until 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 11.
When is PGC 2026?
The PUBG Global Championship 2026 runs from Dec. 1 to 13 in Istanbul, after PGS 12 closes the PUBG Global Series points race on Nov. 1.
Pop quiz
1 questions from this story.
What was PUBG’s Steam peak on Oct. 23, 2026?
PUBG: Battlegrounds peaked at 809,926 players on Steam on Oct. 23, No. 3 behind Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2.
Your call
What do you play most in PUBG?
