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ARK: Survival Evolved vs Core Keeper
Core Keeper is the more played game right now: 15,397 players on Steam against 10,601 for ARK: Survival Evolved, about 45% more players. Core Keeper has been ahead for 4 days straight, and has led on 4 days of the 77 days Coilr has tracked both games.
Core Keeper also has the better Steam reviews: 93% positive vs 83%. Core Keeper is currently 40% off on Steam. Across all tracked metrics, Core Keeper leads 7 of 10.
Players over time
Live Steam player counts, read every 10 minutes. Both are Action / Adventure games.
Which one have you played more?
Coilr members average 135h in ARK: Survival Evolved and 23.8h in Core Keeper. Connect your Steam account and this row fills in with your own hours instead — then keeps tracking both, so you can see which one you are actually still playing.
ARK: Survival Evolved
135h
average of 105 members
Core Keeper
23.8h
average of 32 members
See my hours in both
Free · read-only via Steam OpenID · no password · delete anytime
ARK: Survival Evolved
16,413Core Keeper
20,175Daily averages · latest day · Core Keeper, 23% ahead of ARK: Survival Evolved
One point per day, averaged · Your time zone · drag or use arrow keys to read the lines
Tracked by Coilr since April 2026 · Read every 10 minutes · methodology
These are Steam players only. A game that also runs on its own launcher, a storefront of its own or on console has players this number cannot see, so read it as a comparison of Steam audiences rather than of total ones.
Head-to-head record
Core Keeper has had the higher daily player count for the last 4 days. ARK: Survival Evolved last led on Oct 8, 2026.
ARK: Survival Evolved led 73 daysCore Keeper led 4 days
- Days tracked
- 77
- Current streak
- 4 days
- Core Keeper
- Lead changes
- 1
- Closest gap
- 17%
- Oct 10, 2026
How this works: each game's daily average concurrent players (from Coilr's own Steam readings), compared on the 77 days where both games have data. Whichever averages higher leads that day.
Side by side
Every number Coilr has for both games. The better figure in each row is in green.
| Metric | ARK: Survival Evolved | Core Keeper |
|---|---|---|
| Players right now | 10,601 | 15,397 |
| 24-hour peak | 23,307 | 29,132 |
| 7-day average | 13,295 | 19,158 |
| 30-day average | 13,496 | 16,824 |
| 30-day trend | −17% | +134% |
| Peak (tracked) | 32,239 | 29,132 |
| Steam reviews | 83% positive | 93% positive |
| Recent reviews (3 mo) | 85% positive | 92% positive |
| Total reviews | 779,128 | 67,211 |
| Owners (SteamSpy est.) | ~20,000,000 | ~1,000,000 |
| Release date | Aug 27, 2017 | Aug 27, 2024 |
| Price | $14.99 | $11.99 (−40%) |
Players by month
Monthly average and peak concurrent players on Steam, from Coilr's own tracking (readings every few minutes for the biggest games, hourly averages beyond 30 days).
| Month | ARK: Survival Evolved | Core Keeper | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg | Peak | Avg | Peak | |
| Apr 2026 | 13,269 | 17,759 | — | — |
| May 2026 | 14,448 | 27,709 | — | — |
| Jun 2026 | 18,608 | 32,239 | — | — |
| Jul 2026 | 19,273 | 29,867 | 2,789 | 4,066 |
| Aug 2026 | 17,512 | 27,955 | 3,028 | 5,009 |
| Sep 2026 | 13,954 | 25,574 | 4,471 | 9,184 |
| Oct 2026 (so far) | 13,627 | 23,307 | 12,878 | 29,132 |
Frequently asked
Which has more players, ARK: Survival Evolved or Core Keeper?
Core Keeper currently has more players: 15,397 concurrent players on Steam vs 10,601 for ARK: Survival Evolved, about 45% more players.
Is ARK: Survival Evolved bigger than Core Keeper on Steam?
Over the last 30 days ARK: Survival Evolved averaged 13,496 concurrent players and Core Keeper averaged 16,824. By that measure Core Keeper is currently the bigger game.
Has ARK: Survival Evolved ever had more players than Core Keeper?
Yes. Across the 77 days Coilr has tracked both games, ARK: Survival Evolved had the higher daily average on 73 days, most recently on Oct 8, 2026. Core Keeper has led for the last 4 days.
Is ARK: Survival Evolved better than Core Keeper?
By Steam review score, Core Keeper rates higher: 93% positive across 67,211 reviews vs 83% across 779,128 for ARK: Survival Evolved. Core Keeper has the larger player base right now (15,397 vs 10,601 concurrent). Player counts, ratings, price and trend are compared side by side above.
Is ARK: Survival Evolved growing or declining on Steam?
ARK: Survival Evolved averaged 13,496 concurrent players over the last 30 days, down 17% vs the previous 30 days. Its highest tracked player count is 32,239.
Is Core Keeper growing or declining on Steam?
Core Keeper averaged 16,824 concurrent players over the last 30 days, up 134% vs the previous 30 days. Its highest tracked player count is 29,132.
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