Following a weekend full of early release rumors 343 launched the Halo Infinite free-to-play multiplayer, and the game is already topping Steam charts. The announcement came during the Halo 20th Anniversary event on Nov.15, exciting fans enough to spark rapid installment and an immediate dive into the multiplayer. It wasn't long before Halo Infinite was topping Steam charts, solidifying itself as one of the top 10 games with the highest concurrent player count of the day. In addition to PC, the Halo Infinite multiplayer launched on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
By nightfall, Halo Infinite's free multiplayer had reached 272,586 concurrent players on Steam. It became the 22nd game to have the highest concurrent player count of all time on Steam. As of this moment, the Halo Infinite multiplayer is now the Xbox record holder for an Xbox title played on Steam with the highest concurrent player base.
Halo Infinite peaked at 256,619 players on its second day, according to Steam. If this trend continues, it's likely that the Halo Infinite multiplayer will have a higher all-time concurrent player base than either Destiny 2 or Skyrim, the two games that hold the 20th and 21st records, during its first live weekend. Destiny 2 and Skyrim only have a larger player base higher than Halo Infinite's record by about 20,000 and 15,000 players, respectively.
Halo Infinite Record Breaking Player Count, Explained
Although many players reported blue screen errors in Halo Infinite on its first day, the game was still able to hold enough concurrent players to topple the now-former record holder, KHOLAT. The surprise launch numbers were also hurt by the multiple reports of server issues in Halo Infinite, which resulted in many players being unable to access the multiplayer at all. Additionally, the latest Halo Infinite 24 hour peak concurrent player count number (256,619) was higher than the Apex Legends player base by about 35,000 players, and about 42,000 short of PUBG: Battlegrounds' number.
Considering no data from the console player base had been shared yet on Halo Infinite, it's likely that the total number of concurrent players on consoles far surpasses Steam's numbers. However, the near future may also see a small decline to the concurrent player count due to a slow battle pass grind in Halo Infinite. Nonetheless, Halo Infinite is sure to break its own record, and some others, on Steam and Xbox once the campaign portion of the game is released on Dec. 8, 2021.
Source: Steam