Delta Force breaks its previous all-time high with over 213,000 peak concurrent players on Steam

Team Jade and TiMi Studio Group’s free-to-play FPS Delta Force has shattered its previous records on Steam by achieving an all-time high count of 213,519 concurrent players, according to SteamDB on September 6, 2025.

The game launched on December 5, 2024, and has gradually enjoyed a steady climb on Steam’s leaderboard as the game’s popularity continues to surge with increasing player counts every month since its debut, with the title exhibiting a peak of 210,413 concurrent players in August.

With this latest record, the game edges out its previous record marginally on PC. This was also followed by Delta Force’s console release on the Xbox Series S|X and PlayStation 5 on August 19, 2025, which has contributed to a surge of players across multiple platforms in the respective month.

The game features large-scale PVP gunfights, mixed with extraction shooter elements, and a campaign that pays homage to the 2001 film, particularly in countries like China, which has also received a region-specific version of the title. Things get even more surprising because the game’s record peak of concurrent players occurred without a major content drop in play, contrary to the previous peak caused by Season 5’s July 10 launch.

Following the game’s success, Delta Force is prepping for its first-ever Invitational esports event in China from September 19 to 21, 2025, featuring 12 teams from eight regions eyeing the title of world champion, and a share of the $500,000 prize pool. The game is slowly making a pivot into competitive gaming, amid its steady climb.

However, players still have some gripes regarding the AI-filled servers and sessions plagued by cheaters. More importantly, the game’s free-to-play live service model consists of numerous cosmetic microtransactions, with its cross-platform ecosystem continuing to fuel the model.

Delta Force originally debuted as a tactical FPS published and developed by NovaLogic for Windows in October 1998.  The game used the Voxel Space engine, creating never-before-seen draw distances and terrain detail in FPS games at the time.

The game was well-received at the time, being praised for its mission and sound design, but was critiqued for its relatively lower level of realism. The game’s multiplayer mode allowed LAN and online multiplayer for up to 32 players, along with support for co-op, replacing the NPC Delta Force Operators.

The Delta Force IP switched hands from NovaLogic to THQ Nordic in October 2016. Later, Tencent acquired the rights to Delta Force from THQ Nordic in August 2023 and announced a reboot of the franchise with a teaser trailer.