Summary
Almost 11 years afterDayZwas first launched in Early Access, Bohemia Interactive’s zombie survival game has reached a massive new peak player count on Steam.DayZfirst entered Early Access back in December 2013, but it appears it’s still more popular than ever.
DayZbegan life as anArma 2mod developed by Dean “Rocket” Hall, before being expanded by developer Bohemia Interactive as a full product. It’s easy to forget how influential the title is on the modern gaming industry. It was part of that initial burst ofopen-world survival games, a trend that remains popular. That’s not to forget its role in creating the mammoth battle royale genre, either. Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene created theDayZ: Battle Royalemod, creating a formula he later polished inPUBG: Battlegrounds. Countless battle royales would follow; for better or worse,DayZ’s effect on the gaming industry is still felt to this day.
According toplayer count charts on SteamDB,DayZhas just hit a new all-time peak player count on Steam, after reaching 73,615 players. This just pips the previous peak of 73,418, which it managed back in January 2024. It’s an impressive feat to manage so late into its lifespan. For context, its late 2013 launch saw over 45,000 players, although this had declined to an average of anywhere between 3,000 to 5,000 players from mid-2017 to mid-2018. Much like its zombies,DayZhas truly been raised from the dead over the last few years. There might be plenty ofgames likeDayZ, but nothing truly compares to the original.
DayZ Hits New Steam Peak Player Count
There’s one obvious reason thatDayZ’s player count has reached this new peak right now. A few days back,DayZ’sFrostlineDLC went live, bringing an entirely new icy map, Sakhal, which has taken the game’s survival elements to the next level. It’s a brand-new experience, even for veteranDayZplayers, with more additions such as boats arriving at the same time. The weekend has finally allowed enough players to jump in and tryDayZ: Frostlineto push it to a new peak player count.
Despite its age,DayZ’s popularity is evidently showing no signs of slowing down. This means it’s unlikely that Bohemia Interactive will cut support for the game any time soon.DayZhas been through some undeniably rough periods, and now, in its best shape ever, it’s hard to imagine the studio slowing down, even with therecent announcement ofArma 4’s release date. It’s exciting to imagine what the studio will do next with the game.
DayZ
WHERE TO PLAY
DayZ is a hardcore survival game where players must strive to endure a post-apocalyptic world populated by frenzied infected and other survivors. DayZ includes the original Chernarus terrain, and the Livonia terrain.Chernarus – The iconic DayZ terrain, set in the post-soviet state of Chernarus and encompassing 230 km2 of hand-crafted environment based on real life locations.Livonia – The dense 163 km2 map lets players experience the hardcore survival hit in a whole new environment. Players can put their survival skills to the test by venturing into the unfamiliar land of Livonia, and seeing just how long they can last in this deadlier-than-ever world.
