8-Year-Old Steam Game is Enjoying a Huge Player Count Boost Right Now

Highlights

• Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2: Deluxe Edition saw a huge jump in player count on Steam due to a major discount.
• This third-person shooter game lets players choose between Plants and Zombies in various game modes, including single-player and PvP.
• The Deluxe Edition is currently 90% off on Steam.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2: Deluxe Edition has received a big boost in player count on Steam, courtesy of an ongoing promotion on the platform. It is the fourth game in the popular Plants vs. Zombies franchise and the sequel to 2014’s Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare.

The base edition of Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 came out on February 23, 2016, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. It is a third-person shooter game in which the player can pick sides between the Plants and the Zombies as the two factions go head-to-head across single-player, co-op, and PvP modes. In May 2022, developer PopCap rolled out Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2: Deluxe Edition, which packs additional character variants, accessories, and more. Currently, it is the only edition of the game available for purchase on Steam. Thanks to a recent heavy discount, it is growing in popularity quickly and has amassed a significant player count on Steam.

As spotted by PCGamesN (via SteamDB), Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2: Deluxe Edition achieved its best-ever concurrent player count on Steam as it climbed to 9,086 players on July 28. In doing so, the zombie game broke its previous record of 4,888 concurrent players, which was achieved when this particular edition first came out a couple of years ago. Moreover, this is also the second-highest number of concurrent players for a Plants vs. Zombies game on Steam, only behind 2009’s Plants vs Zombies: Game of the Year, which peaked at 16,225 players. At the time of writing, there are 7,647 Steam users currently playing the shooter game.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2: Deluxe Edition Steam Player Count

Upon closer inspection, the sudden surge in Garden Warfare 2‘s popularity can be traced to the ongoing promotion, which has slashed the zombie game’s price on Steam to $2.99—a 90% discount on the original price. Interestingly, the last significant bump in Garden Warfare 2‘s Steam player count also came around the time of a sales promotion, when the game received an 80% discount and reached 3,645 concurrent players in December 2023. However, the Deluxe Edition’s current price is its lowest ever on the storefront. The promotional discount is set to end on July 30, 1PM EDT.

Ever since bursting onto the scene in 2009, the Plants vs. Zombies series has attracted tons of players and spawned multiple different games across different platforms. Plants vs. Zombies 3 is the latest entry in the franchise and was soft-launched in select regions for Android and iOS users back in January.