The most important difference between console and PC isn’t about graphics nor performance. It’s about games and their longevity. Unfortunately, most games that come out during the course of a generation are likely to die when the next one rolls around. That’s especially true when it comes to multiplayer games, whose playerbases essentially migrate from the PS4 to the PS5, for example.
Games on PC don’t quite get left behind because a better graphics card comes out. If a game is good, it stays on the scene as long as people get something out of its gameplay loop. In fact, it’s no surprise to see that most old games are still alive only on PC.
10 Left 4 Dead 2 (18,000 Monthly Players)
It’s virtually impossible to find a zombie game that’s over a decade old, still being played by people in the tens of thousands. Left 4 Dead 2 is a masterpiece, originally released by Valve on November 17, 2009, that helped popularize the first-person zombie shooter sub-genre.
The AI Director 2.0 implemented in L4D2 is still one of the craziest features ever found in a survival game. Modern titles still lack even a modicum of dynamic difficulty adjustment that’s as engaging as the one in this title.
9 Warframe (47,000 Monthly Players)
Albeit Warframe doesn’t boast a playerbase that numbers in the millions, it’s still receiving recurring updates and content expansions. In fact, Corpus Proxima, the latest addition to arrive in the game, released just a couple of months ago. That’s notable, considering the game came out on March 25, 2013.
The average monthly players in April surpassed the 47,000 count, and even reached a daily peak of 77,000. Overall, Warframe’s population ebbs and flows, but it never reached the millions.
8 Grand Theft Auto V (84,000 Monthly Players)
Plenty of people still play Rockstar’s iconic Grand Theft Auto V. The cumulative and current monthly playerbase is actually rather close to one million active users, but of these, only 84,000 play on PC. That’s still a considerable number of people nonetheless.
GTA V is, at this point, a fairly old game. Despite that, it has been able to span three console generations, with its upcoming re-release on PS5 and Xbox Series X later this year. The next original installment in the series has a lot to live up to.
7 Team Fortress 2 (120,000 Monthly Players)
The legendary first-person shooter, multiplayer oriented Team Fortress 2 was developed by and released Valve back on October 10, 2007. This title is, likely, older than most of Fortnite’s playerbase. As a precursor to games like Valorant and Overwatch, TF2 was way ahead of its time when it came out with its explosive and remarkably hilarious characters.
Within the last month, the number of max players registered online (in a single day) reached just over 120,000 people. Considering how old this game is, it’s surprising to see these numbers.
6 Dota 2 (440,000 Monthly Players)
Think of Valve like a fine Japanese katana swordsmith. Games made by this company share one common denominator: they endure the test of time. Dota 2 is the perfect example of a game that still keeps a strong monthly average of active users. Last April, about 440,000 people played this game.
Considering its original 2013 release date, and the fact that Dota 2 is a sequel to a user-created mod for Warcraft 3, it’s remarkable that people still play it to this day.
5 Hearthstone (2.6 Million Monthly Players)
This turn-based card game stems from Warcraft’s lore an employs many of the franchise’s signature elements. The development of this game was inspired by a profound love for collectible cards games, as well as the real life World Of Warcraft Trading Card Game. Hearthstone originally released in 2014 for Windows and macOS, but it also arrived on mobile later during the same year.
Although its playerbase has been steadily declining during the past year, it still retains over 2 millions and a half average monthly users.
4 World Of Warcraft (5 Million Monthly Players)
It’s no surprise that a MMORPG like World Of Warcraft is still going strong today. The sheer amount of DLCs and recurring patches undoubtedly helped in drawing players back in, over and over. This title still retains an average monthly playerbase of more than 5 million active users.
Back when WoW was released in 2004, it racked up an overwhelming critical and commercial success. The game reached a peak of 12 million active subscribers in 2010, and by 2014 over 100 million people had registered accounts.
3 Counter Strike: Global Offensive (35 Million Monthly Players)
Counter Strike: Global Offensive was originally released on August 21, 2012. Terrorists and counter-terrorists have competed in objective-based, multiplayer action since then. If you were to log into the game now, you’d still find lobbies pretty easily, considering that just last month the playerbase peaked at 35 million active users.
CS: GO retains one of the strongest first-person shooter formulas to this day, despite recurring Call Of Duty or Battlefield releases that could have put this title in the background. Maybe flashy graphics aren’t all that important in video games.
2 League Of Legends (115 Million Monthly Players)
This title accounts for an essential keystone of competitive MOBAs. Originally released on October 27, 2009, League Of Legends is still going strong at it, despite probably ruining the calm and quiet life of its (still) enormous playerbase.
The number of people to have played the game in the last month is estimated to be over 115 million, with a majority of players concentrating in the United States. By comparison, the more recent Call Of Duty: Warzone just about reached 100 million players last April.
1 Minecraft (140 Million Monthly Players)
Is it surprising to see that the best selling game of all time also happens to retain a truly massive playerbase, 10 years after its release date? Minecraft came out on November 18, 2011. Slowly but surely, this staple sandbox made its way on, virtually, every platform. Because of this, the game also features a nearly unparalleled cross-play range that unites PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, and mobile players.
Just last month, 140 million active monthly users signed into Minecraft. This game seems to show no sign of wanting to slowdown soon, considering the next major update (Caves And Cliffs) is set to release before the end of the year.
NEXT: Minecraft: 7 Tips For Building An Underwater House
