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Counter-Strike vs Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2 is the more played game right now: 47,290 players on Steam against 11,034 for Counter-Strike, about 4× more players. Left 4 Dead 2 has been ahead for 122 days straight.
Counter-Strike is currently 80% off on Steam. Across all tracked metrics, Left 4 Dead 2 leads 9 of 10.
Players over time
Live Steam player counts. Counter-Strike is read every 10 minutes, Left 4 Dead 2 every 5 minutes. Both are Action games.
Which one have you played more?
Coilr members average 21.3h in Counter-Strike and 123h in Left 4 Dead 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
21.3h
average of 50 members
Left 4 Dead 2
123h
average of 204 members
See my hours in both
Free · read-only via Steam OpenID · no password · delete anytime
Counter-Strike
8,262Left 4 Dead 2
31,163Daily averages · latest day · Left 4 Dead 2, 3.8× the players of Counter-Strike
One point per day, averaged · Your time zone · drag or use arrow keys to read the lines
Tracked by Coilr since April 2026 · Counter-Strike is read every 10 minutes, Left 4 Dead 2 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
Left 4 Dead 2 has had the higher daily player count for the last 122 days, every day since Coilr began tracking both games.
Counter-Strike led 0 daysLeft 4 Dead 2 led 122 days
- Days tracked
- 122
- Current streak
- 122 days
- Left 4 Dead 2
- Lead changes
- 0
- Closest gap
- 52%
- May 28, 2026
How this works: each game's daily average concurrent players (from Coilr's own Steam readings), compared on the 122 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 | Left 4 Dead 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Players right now | 11,034 | 47,290 |
| 24-hour peak | 13,405 | 48,377 |
| 7-day average | 8,616 | 32,705 |
| 30-day average | 8,121 | 26,205 |
| 30-day trend | +2% | −1% |
| Peak (tracked) | 14,296 | 49,848 |
| Steam reviews | 97% positive | 98% positive |
| Recent reviews (3 mo) | 95% positive | 97% positive |
| Total reviews | 262,024 | 1,061,010 |
| Owners (SteamSpy est.) | ~10,000,000 | ~50,000,000 |
| Release date | Nov 1, 2000 | Nov 16, 2009 |
| Price | $1.99 (−80%) | $1.99 (−80%) |
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 | Left 4 Dead 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg | Peak | Avg | Peak | |
| Apr 2026 | — | — | 27,856 | 35,260 |
| May 2026 | 11,355 | 11,957 | 29,374 | 41,078 |
| Jun 2026 | 8,005 | 12,838 | 24,185 | 43,172 |
| Jul 2026 | 7,945 | 12,789 | 28,131 | 45,305 |
| Aug 2026 | 7,957 | 12,576 | 25,860 | 41,038 |
| Sep 2026 | 7,965 | 13,254 | 22,668 | 40,106 |
| Oct 2026 (so far) | 8,521 | 14,296 | 32,201 | 49,848 |
Frequently asked
Which has more players, Counter-Strike or Left 4 Dead 2?
Left 4 Dead 2 currently has more players: 47,290 concurrent players on Steam vs 11,034 for Counter-Strike, about 4× more players.
Is Counter-Strike bigger than Left 4 Dead 2 on Steam?
Over the last 30 days Counter-Strike averaged 8,121 concurrent players and Left 4 Dead 2 averaged 26,205. By that measure Left 4 Dead 2 is currently the bigger game.
Has Counter-Strike ever had more players than Left 4 Dead 2?
Not in Coilr's head-to-head tracking: Left 4 Dead 2 has had the higher daily average concurrent player count on Steam on every one of the 122 days both games have been tracked.
Is Counter-Strike better than Left 4 Dead 2?
By Steam review score, Left 4 Dead 2 rates higher: 98% positive across 1,061,010 reviews vs 97% across 262,024 for Counter-Strike. Left 4 Dead 2 has the larger player base right now (47,290 vs 11,034 concurrent). Player counts, ratings, price and trend are compared side by side above.
Is Counter-Strike growing or declining on Steam?
Counter-Strike averaged 8,121 concurrent players over the last 30 days, roughly flat vs the previous 30 days. Its highest tracked player count is 14,296.
Is Left 4 Dead 2 growing or declining on Steam?
Left 4 Dead 2 averaged 26,205 concurrent players over the last 30 days, roughly flat vs the previous 30 days. Its highest tracked player count is 49,848.
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