Steam rushes to new records and builds its ARM version

The gaming platform Steam has worked its way up to new record numbers in recent months. However, it seems that they are not just resting on their laurels – they are also continuing to develop the platform for new hardware.

Proton for Qualcomm

Earlier this year, Qualcomm unveiled its Snapdragon X series of ARM-based processors for Windows 11 PCs, which are used in many new notebooks. Although it stated that most Windows PC games would “just work” with Snapdragon X Elite chips, it turns out that this is not universally the case. Now there are indications that Steam, the largest digital gaming platform for PCs, is also being developed in a variant for ARM-based PCs.

According to a Updates which was discovered on the third-party site SteamDB, Valve is apparently testing an ARM-based version of Proton under the name “proton-arm64ec-4”, reported the US magazine Tom’s Hardware. Proton is a software layer that allows Windows games to be playable on the Linux operating system and on devices like the Steam Deck, Valve’s handheld gaming PC. The tests include games like “Left 4 Dead 2” and “Deep Rock Galactic,” which could indicate that Valve is developing an ARM version of Steam that runs natively on Windows PCs with Snapdragon chips.

Valve has not officially confirmed that such a version of Steam for ARM PCs is in the works, but if it is, it could be a significant sign that Qualcomm is gaining increasing support from developers to establish its Snapdragon chips in the Windows space, potentially posing a threat to rivals like AMD and Intel.

New user record

While these developments continue in the background, Valve is experiencing a real boom with its Steam platform. The platform recently reached a new milestone: On Sunday, over 38 million players were online simultaneously for the first time – a record that significantly surpasses the previous high of 37.7 million players.

Interestingly, this new record was not triggered by the release of a major new game. Instead, many users continue to play popular titles such as “Black Myth: Wukong” and “Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2”. Valve’s own games, including “Counter-Strike 2” and “Dota 2”, also dominate the list of most played games.

The not yet officially released “Deadlock” even makes it into the top 10 most played titles. With the upcoming release of other major PC games such as “STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl” and “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6”, Steam could even exceed the 40 million concurrent active players mark in the coming months.