Video Games Break Records Amidst COVID-19 Self-Isolation
The Coronavirus outbreak has caused panic and fear across the entire world. In order to contain the effects of this contagious virus and minimalize its spread, Governments have employed different measures. The extended ramification of Coronavirus includes the suspension of several public events, including gaming tournaments and expos. Apart from this, the virus is gradually yet consistently depleting the world’s economy and has had a major impact on the world’s industry.
Click to enlargeCoronavirus has wreaked havoc across the world; however, there is one industry that seems to be thriving nonetheless and – no surprises – it's the gaming industry. In periods of pain, boredom or personal emptiness, video games can serve as palliative care for both the body and the mind. This success isn’t related to the development or publishing of games by companies, rather it’s the unexpected rise in the number of concurrent players, or even the time played for. Since the outbreak, there were several of these records broken by companies that hold an infamous reputation in the industry.
These include:
1. According to Steam DB, Steam, the most popular digital PC gaming marketplace, conquered new heights on Sunday (15th March), drawing a record of 20,313,451 concurrent users. Steam was released in 2003 September and in these sixteen years never have they been able to record these many active users.
Click to enlarge2. Activision Blizzard’s new free-to-play Battle Royale game, Call of Duty: Warzone, which hit the markets on the 10th of March on all platforms attracted a whopping $15 million dollars, breaking the record of Apex Legends' release last year which made $10 million.
Click to enlarge3. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, benefitted most from the increased engagement, crushing its all-time peak with 1,100,244 concurrent players, topping its previous peak last month by a million, which beat the record set by itself in April 2016.
While the COVID-19 Pandemic has caused a great influx in the number of players, a crucial drawback to it is the many server issues, which people on all platforms are facing.
At the time of writing, Coronavirus has resulted in around 375,000 cases and over 16,000 deaths.
Image via PAImages
