Gab Hernandez 
Street Fighter 6 is now three months old but how many people are still playing the game? A lot, actually.
It was easy to see that Street Fighter 6 was going to propel the series to new heights but now a few months removed from its release, there are numbers to back it up. Since its release, the game has consistently ranked in the 100 most-played games on Steam. It also happens to be the only fighting game consistently in the top-100 charts and has a considerably larger player base than all its other fighting game rivals.
With the upcoming release of the new character A.K.I. and a steady stream of DLC fighters set to come out in the future, it’s likely to stay there. Capcom is likely reveling in Street Fighter 6’s success, but what is that actual player count? It’s impossible to offer an exact number, but a strong estimate can be given.
How many people play Street Fighter 6?
Street Fighter 6 likely averages around 50,000 players per day three months after its launch.
According to Steam Charts, the game peaks at over 18,000 players per day and averages around 14,000. Given the fact that Steam only accounts for about one third of Street Fighter 6’s sold units, the average across all platforms is likely closer to around 50,000 on average with daily peaks above 60,000.
While that might not sound amazing when games like Dota 2 still average over 400,000, it’s more impressive when stacked against other fighting games.
The all-time player count peak for Street Fighter 5 on Steam was a comparatively small 13,807 players. This count was recorded on its release day of February 16 and the game experienced a severe dropoff in players not even a month into its lifecycle. By March 2016, Street Fighter 5 only occasionally broke the 5,000-player milestone.
The fact that Street Fighter 6’s average is higher than the all-time peak for Street Fighter 5 is a clear demonstration of its success. Street Fighter 6 doesn’t only dwarf its older sibling, though. Its player counts are significantly larger than Guilty Gear Strive as well, even as it kicks off its third season.
Why has Street Fighter 6 been so successful?
Street Fighter 6 has been successful in large part thanks to new accessibility options that have attracted new players.
There are a lot of factors that contributed to Street Fighter’s success. The one many fans point to is the existence of modernized controls and in-depth tutorials that make the game more accessible for people who are new to fighting games. Simpler controls and teaching newbies fundamentals has proven an effective tool in attracting a new fanbase.
There’s also the addition of a story mode in the form of the World Tour, which gives players something to do if they don’t feel like going into multiplayer. Whatever the reason may be for Street Fighter 6’s success, it’s positioned to remain a force moving forward. With more DLC planned for the future, Street Fighter 6 is looking to have a long, healthy lifecycle.
