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ARK: Survival Evolved vs The Forest
Live Steam player count comparison, updated every 10 minutes. Both are Action / Adventure games.
ARK: Survival Evolved is currently the more played game: 16,399 concurrent players on Steam right now vs 4,348 for The Forest, about 4× more players. ARK: Survival Evolved has been ahead for 128 days straight. The Forest counters with better Steam reviews: 96% positive vs 83%. Across all tracked metrics, ARK: Survival Evolved leads 7 of 9.
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.
Which one have you played more?
Coilr members average 129h in ARK: Survival Evolved and 361h in The Forest. 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
129h
average of 56 members
The Forest
361h
average of 63 members
See my hours in both
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Player count history
ARK: Survival EvolvedThe Forest
Tracked by Coilr since April 2026 · Steam polled every 10 minutes · methodology
Head-to-head record
ARK: Survival Evolved has had the higher daily player count for the last 128 days, every day since Coilr began tracking both games.
ARK: Survival Evolved led 128 daysThe Forest led 0 days
Days tracked
128
Current streak
128 days
ARK: Survival Evolved
Lead changes
0
Closest gap
34%
Jun 10, 2026
How this works: each game's daily average concurrent players (from Coilr's 10-minute Steam polls), compared on the 128 days where both games have data. Whichever averages higher leads that day. methodology
| Metric | ARK: Survival Evolved | The Forest |
|---|---|---|
| Players right now | 16,399 | 4,348 |
| 24-hour peak | 23,307 | 5,158 |
| 7-day average | 16,925 | 3,277 |
| 30-day average | 17,999 | 3,558 |
| 30-day trend | −6% | −46% |
| Peak (tracked) | 32,239 | 19,013 |
| Steam reviews | 83% positive | 96% positive |
| Recent reviews (3 mo) | 84% positive | 94% positive |
| Total reviews | 775,792 | 680,422 |
| Owners (SteamSpy est.) | ~20,000,000 | ~20,000,000 |
| Release date | Aug 27, 2017 | Apr 30, 2018 |
| Price | $14.99 | $19.99 |
Full stats: ARK: Survival Evolved · The Forest · add more games to this comparison →
Players by month
| Month | ARK: Survival Evolved | The Forest | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg | Peak | Avg | Peak | |
| Apr 2026 | 13,269 | 17,759 | 3,029 | 4,011 |
| May 2026 | 14,448 | 27,709 | 3,009 | 4,779 |
| Jun 2026 | 18,608 | 32,239 | 7,460 | 19,013 |
| Jul 2026 | 19,275 | 29,867 | 5,857 | 12,617 |
| Aug 2026 (so far) | 17,725 | 28,009 | 3,427 | 5,783 |
Monthly average and peak concurrent players on Steam, from Coilr's own tracking (10-minute polls, hourly beyond 30 days).
Frequently asked
Which has more players, ARK: Survival Evolved or The Forest?
ARK: Survival Evolved currently has more players: 16,399 concurrent players on Steam vs 4,348 for The Forest, about 4× more players.
Is ARK: Survival Evolved bigger than The Forest on Steam?
Over the last 30 days ARK: Survival Evolved averaged 17,999 concurrent players and The Forest averaged 3,558. By that measure ARK: Survival Evolved is currently the bigger game.
Has The Forest ever had more players than ARK: Survival Evolved?
Not in Coilr's head-to-head tracking: ARK: Survival Evolved has had the higher daily average concurrent player count on Steam on every one of the 128 days both games have been tracked.
Is ARK: Survival Evolved better than The Forest?
By Steam review score, The Forest rates higher: 96% positive across 680,422 reviews vs 83% across 775,792 for ARK: Survival Evolved. ARK: Survival Evolved has the larger player base right now (16,399 vs 4,348 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 17,999 concurrent players over the last 30 days, down 6% vs the previous 30 days. Its highest tracked player count is 32,239.
Is The Forest growing or declining on Steam?
The Forest averaged 3,558 concurrent players over the last 30 days, down 46% vs the previous 30 days. Its highest tracked player count is 19,013.
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