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Counter-Strike 2 vs DayZ
Counter-Strike 2 is the more played game right now: 1,082,182 players on Steam against 39,834 for DayZ, about 27× more players. Counter-Strike 2 has been ahead for 134 days straight.
Counter-Strike 2 also has the better Steam reviews: 86% positive vs 78%. Counter-Strike 2 is free to play, while DayZ costs $24.99 (−50%). Across all tracked metrics, Counter-Strike 2 leads 9 of 10.
Players over time
Live Steam player counts, read every 5 minutes. Both are Action games.
Which one have you played more?
Coilr members average 419h in Counter-Strike 2 and 72.1h in DayZ. 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.
Counter-Strike 2
419h
average of 310 members
DayZ
72.1h
average of 50 members
See my hours in both
Free · read-only via Steam OpenID · no password · delete anytime
Counter-Strike 2
789,653DayZ
27,600Daily averages · latest day · Counter-Strike 2, 29× the players of DayZ
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 5 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
Counter-Strike 2 has had the higher daily player count for the last 134 days, every day since Coilr began tracking both games.
Counter-Strike 2 led 134 daysDayZ led 0 days
- Days tracked
- 134
- Current streak
- 134 days
- Counter-Strike 2
- Lead changes
- 0
- Closest gap
- 95%
- Jul 26, 2026
How this works: each game's daily average concurrent players (from Coilr's own Steam readings), compared on the 134 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 | Counter-Strike 2 | DayZ |
|---|---|---|
| Players right now | 1,082,182 | 39,834 |
| 24-hour peak | 1,220,555 | 43,741 |
| 7-day average | 812,769 | 34,067 |
| 30-day average | 815,901 | 33,676 |
| 30-day trend | −1% | −9% |
| Peak (tracked) | 1,552,731 | 65,084 |
| Steam reviews | 86% positive | 78% positive |
| Recent reviews (3 mo) | 78% positive | 85% positive |
| Total reviews | 9,899,431 | 470,319 |
| Owners (SteamSpy est.) | ~100,000,000 | ~10,000,000 |
| Release date | Aug 21, 2012 | Dec 13, 2018 |
| Price | Free to play | $24.99 (−50%) |
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 | Counter-Strike 2 | DayZ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg | Peak | Avg | Peak | |
| Apr 2026 | 733,188 | 1,347,914 | — | — |
| May 2026 | 842,402 | 1,484,941 | 40,401 | 64,822 |
| Jun 2026 | 917,771 | 1,552,731 | 36,811 | 65,084 |
| Jul 2026 | 853,539 | 1,412,513 | 36,804 | 64,972 |
| Aug 2026 | 831,579 | 1,317,175 | 35,988 | 63,434 |
| Sep 2026 | 814,569 | 1,452,036 | 33,346 | 62,236 |
| Oct 2026 (so far) | 809,798 | 1,293,425 | 31,104 | 55,919 |
Frequently asked
Which has more players, Counter-Strike 2 or DayZ?
Counter-Strike 2 currently has more players: 1,082,182 concurrent players on Steam vs 39,834 for DayZ, about 27× more players.
Is Counter-Strike 2 bigger than DayZ on Steam?
Over the last 30 days Counter-Strike 2 averaged 815,901 concurrent players and DayZ averaged 33,676. By that measure Counter-Strike 2 is currently the bigger game.
Has DayZ ever had more players than Counter-Strike 2?
Not in Coilr's head-to-head tracking: Counter-Strike 2 has had the higher daily average concurrent player count on Steam on every one of the 134 days both games have been tracked.
Is Counter-Strike 2 better than DayZ?
By Steam review score, Counter-Strike 2 rates higher: 86% positive across 9,899,431 reviews vs 78% across 470,319 for DayZ. Counter-Strike 2 has the larger player base right now (1,082,182 vs 39,834 concurrent). Player counts, ratings, price and trend are compared side by side above.
Is Counter-Strike 2 growing or declining on Steam?
Counter-Strike 2 averaged 815,901 concurrent players over the last 30 days, roughly flat vs the previous 30 days. Its highest tracked player count is 1,552,731.
Is DayZ growing or declining on Steam?
DayZ averaged 33,676 concurrent players over the last 30 days, down 9% vs the previous 30 days. Its highest tracked player count is 65,084.
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