Alpha·Early access · all features free
Counter-Strike 2 vs PAYDAY 2
Live Steam player count comparison, updated every 10 minutes. Both are Action games.
Counter-Strike 2 is currently the more played game: 1,067,724 concurrent players on Steam right now vs 32,603 for PAYDAY 2, about 33× more players. Counter-Strike 2 has been ahead for 152 days straight. PAYDAY 2 counters with better Steam reviews: 89% positive vs 86%. Counter-Strike 2 is free to play, while PAYDAY 2 costs $9.99. Across all tracked metrics, Counter-Strike 2 leads 7 of 10.
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 428h in Counter-Strike 2 and 260h in PAYDAY 2. 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
428h
average of 238 members
PAYDAY 2
260h
average of 117 members
See my hours in both
Free · read-only via Steam OpenID · no password · delete anytime
Player count history
Counter-Strike 2PAYDAY 2
Tracked by Coilr since April 2026 · Steam polled every 10 minutes · methodology
Head-to-head record
Counter-Strike 2 has had the higher daily player count for the last 152 days, every day since Coilr began tracking both games.
Counter-Strike 2 led 152 daysPAYDAY 2 led 0 days
Days tracked
152
Current streak
152 days
Counter-Strike 2
Lead changes
0
Closest gap
95%
May 26, 2026
How this works: each game's daily average concurrent players (from Coilr's 10-minute Steam polls), compared on the 152 days where both games have data. Whichever averages higher leads that day. methodology
| Metric | Counter-Strike 2 | PAYDAY 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Players right now | 1,067,724 | 32,603 |
| 24-hour peak | 1,262,392 | 33,600 |
| 7-day average | 799,334 | 31,346 |
| 30-day average | 810,995 | 30,065 |
| 30-day trend | −1% | +4% |
| Peak (tracked) | 1,552,731 | 36,901 |
| Steam reviews | 86% positive | 89% positive |
| Recent reviews (3 mo) | 81% positive | 86% positive |
| Total reviews | 9,851,373 | 674,631 |
| Owners (SteamSpy est.) | ~100,000,000 | ~20,000,000 |
| Release date | Aug 21, 2012 | Aug 13, 2013 |
| Price | Free to play | $9.99 |
Full stats: Counter-Strike 2 · PAYDAY 2 · add more games to this comparison →
Players by month
| Month | Counter-Strike 2 | PAYDAY 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg | Peak | Avg | Peak | |
| Apr 2026 | 733,188 | 1,347,914 | 16,764 | 26,468 |
| May 2026 | 842,402 | 1,484,941 | 25,803 | 33,915 |
| Jun 2026 | 917,771 | 1,552,731 | 28,999 | 35,496 |
| Jul 2026 | 853,539 | 1,412,513 | 30,217 | 36,129 |
| Aug 2026 | 831,176 | 1,343,038 | 29,337 | 35,476 |
| Sep 2026 (so far) | 799,010 | 1,359,955 | 29,590 | 36,901 |
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, Counter-Strike 2 or PAYDAY 2?
Counter-Strike 2 currently has more players: 1,067,724 concurrent players on Steam vs 32,603 for PAYDAY 2, about 33× more players.
Is Counter-Strike 2 bigger than PAYDAY 2 on Steam?
Over the last 30 days Counter-Strike 2 averaged 810,995 concurrent players and PAYDAY 2 averaged 30,065. By that measure Counter-Strike 2 is currently the bigger game.
Has PAYDAY 2 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 152 days both games have been tracked.
Is Counter-Strike 2 better than PAYDAY 2?
By Steam review score, PAYDAY 2 rates higher: 89% positive across 674,631 reviews vs 86% across 9,851,373 for Counter-Strike 2. Counter-Strike 2 has the larger player base right now (1,067,724 vs 32,603 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 810,995 concurrent players over the last 30 days, roughly flat vs the previous 30 days. Its highest tracked player count is 1,552,731.
Is PAYDAY 2 growing or declining on Steam?
PAYDAY 2 averaged 30,065 concurrent players over the last 30 days, up 4% vs the previous 30 days. Its highest tracked player count is 36,901.