Everyone is obsessed with numbers. In the world of competitive shooters, if you aren't hitting Counter-Strike or Apex Legends levels of concurrent users, the internet basically writes your obituary.
That’s exactly what's happening with the finals steam player count right now.
People see a chart, see a dip, and scream "dead game." Honestly? It's kind of exhausting. If you actually look at the data from January 2026, the story isn't about a game dying—it’s about a game finding its level and refusing to budge.
The Raw Data: What the Charts Actually Show
Let's look at the cold, hard numbers for January 2026.
👉 See also: Why the Secretlab Black with Silver Suede Still Rules the Setup
Right now, the finals steam player count is hovering around a 24-hour peak of 16,034 players. On January 16th, it hit a high of 16,012. Compare that to the all-time peak of 242,619 shortly after launch, and yeah, it looks like a massive drop. But that was over two years ago. Games don't live in their launch hype forever.
What’s interesting is the consistency.
In December 2025—during Season 9—the game actually saw a 25% bump in players, peaking at 21,460. The "average" player count usually sits between 11,000 and 13,000. It’s not a world-beater, but it’s a healthy, dedicated base that keeps the lights on at Embark Studios.
SteamDB currently ranks it around #94 in daily active users. Top 100 on Steam isn't "dead." Not by a long shot.
Why the Numbers Bounce Around So Much
If you’ve been following the game for a few seasons, you’ve noticed the roller coaster.
- Season 7 (June 2025): 28,978 peak.
- November 2025: Dips to 17,109.
- September 2025 (Season 8): Shoots back up to 32,876.
Basically, the game breathes. It expands when a new season drops and contracts when the "tourists" move on to the next shiny thing. This is a common pattern for high-skill ceiling games.
The "Dead Game" Myth vs. Reality
I’ve seen the Reddit threads. "Retention is abysmal," they say. "I only play against sweaties," they complain.
✨ Don't miss: Kai Cenat Fortnite Skin: What Most People Get Wrong
There is some truth there.
The skill gap in The Finals is a literal canyon. New players get dropped into Quick Cash and get absolutely dismantled by a team of Diamond-rank players who haven't touched another game in six months. That makes it really hard for the player count to grow exponentially.
But retention for the core audience is actually pretty high. Once the game "clicks" for someone—once they realize they can drop a building on a team's head instead of just out-aiming them—they stay.
Competition is Crowded
You have to remember what this game is up against.
- Apex Legends (Still massive).
- Call of Duty (The juggernaut).
- Arc Raiders (Embark’s other project, which might be stealing some of the spotlight).
It's a tough neighborhood. Being a "niche" shooter with 15k players is better than being a "failed" shooter with zero.
What’s Next for the Player Base?
Embark Studios isn't giving up. They recently pushed Season 9, and the community response has been generally positive despite some optimization grumbles.
If they want to see the finals steam player count climb back toward that 30k or 40k mark, they need to fix the onboarding. You can't just throw a Level 1 Light player into a lobby with a Triple-Medium stack that has 2,000 hours of chemistry. It's a recipe for an immediate uninstall.
📖 Related: Kingdom Hearts 4 leaks: Everything we actually know about the Lost Master Arc
We’re also seeing a lot of "smurfing" lately. High-level players are making new accounts because the top-tier matchmaking is too sweaty or takes too long. That’s a population pressure issue. When the count is lower, the matchmaker has to widen the skill gap just to get a game started. It’s a bit of a catch-22.
Actionable Insights for Players
If you're looking at these numbers and wondering if it's worth your time, here is the deal:
- Check the peaks: If you want fast matchmaking, play during the 24-hour peaks (usually evenings in EU/NA). The closer you are to that 16,000 mark, the better your match quality will be.
- Ignore the "Dead Game" noise: As long as the average stays above 10k, you’ll find matches in seconds for the main modes.
- Watch Season transitions: The best time to jump in is the first two weeks of a new season. That's when the "casual" population is highest, making the lobbies a lot more forgiving.
- Diversify your platforms: Remember, SteamDB only shows PC. Cross-play is a thing, and the console population on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S often pads these numbers significantly.
The bottom line? The Finals isn't going anywhere. It’s found its niche as the "thinking man's" chaotic shooter. It might never be the #1 game on Twitch again, but for the 15,000 of us playing right now, it doesn't really need to be.
Keep an eye on the mid-season updates. Usually, about 45 days into a season, Embark drops a "mid-season reinforcement" that temporarily boosts the count. That's your best window to grind rank before the numbers dip again for the end-of-season lull.