It’s not every day that gamers get to see a newly released title getting so much hype – let alone breaking records. Stray is one of these titles, and it appears to be a resounding success so far. Still, plenty of gamers are now wondering exactly how many people still play Stray.
Stray initially broke records on the day of its release, racking up nearly 63,000 players. The player counts have been steadily decreasing since its launch, fluctuating between 7,000 and 9,000 players active at any given moment as of August 2022. However, the figures are assumed to be higher since this does not factor in PlayStation players.
While Stray was expected to be well-received by fans, the debut figures are still far more impressive than one could have imagined. Stick around to find out about Stray, why it’s gained so much attention in such a short time span, as well as how many people are playing Stray.
Stray
Stray was developed by BlueTwelve Studio, published by Annapurna Interactive, and released on July 19th, 2022, with quite a lot of hype surrounding it. The game was designed for PC players but was also intended to be played on PlayStation as well – at no additional cost for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers.
It is extremely unique as is, focusing on the life of a stray cat – in a futuristic Cyberpunk world filled with tons of adventure, danger, and excitement. It follows the story of a cat who will need to go on a journey in order to return to its family, after somehow ending up in a city flooded with threats such as machines, robots, and even flesh-eating bacteria.
The entire game touches quite a lot on the importance of pets, love, friendships, and hope, and the game itself may be indie sized but many fans and critics have seen it as AAA quality. Although it’s not without its imperfections, Stray has definitely delivered on many of the most alluring elements fans had seen before its release.
How Many People Play Stray?
This game saw an overwhelming response from the community, managing to stack up nearly 63k concurrent players on Steam on its release date alone. It was considered the most popular single-player game at the time and quickly made its way to the top 15 games with over 48k players on Steam as well.
Stray has shattered the concurrent players record for any Annapurna Interactive game on Steam easily becoming its biggest PC launch ever
— Benji-Sales (@BenjiSales) July 19, 2022
Top @A_i Peak Concurrent Players
• Stray – 50,555+
• Twelve Minutes – 8,021
• Outer Wilds – 7,936
• Neon White – 3,277
• Journey – 1,757 pic.twitter.com/7RhlAVyWmM
Stray actually broke the concurrent player record for any of the Annapurna Interactive games on Steam. This has easily made it the biggest PC launch ever for the creators – at least during the initial release phase. It has to be noted that the player counts seen for Stray were remarkably high when it was first launched, but the numbers have been steadily going down since then.
Stray User & Growth Stats 2022
At the time of writing, SteamDB reports 8,764 active players right now, with a 24-hour peak of 16,974 and an all-time high of 62,963 players. A slight downward trend has been noted as well, although it’s not sharp and still sees fluctuations.
Similarly, Stray only has 7,440 reported players active right now according to Steam Player Counter, with an all-time peak of 62,761. Below are the user and growth stats for Stray’s player counts since its release, according to Steam Player Counter:
| Day | Peak | Gain | % Gain |
| July 30, 2022 | 17,141 | +2,193 | +15% |
| July 29, 2022 | 14,948 | -638 | -4% |
| July 28, 2022 | 15,586 | -2,424 | -14% |
| July 27, 2022 | 18,010 | -2,874 | -14% |
| July 26, 2022 | 20,884 | -4,703 | -18% |
| July 25, 2022 | 25,587 | -9,490 | -27% |
| July 24, 2022 | 35,077 | -2,891 | -8% |
| July 23, 2022 | 37,968 | +1,867 | +5% |
| July 22, 2022 | 36,101 | -4,972 | -12% |
| July 21, 2022 | 41,073 | -10,096 | -20% |
| July 20, 2022 | 51,169 | -11,592 | -19% |
| July 19, 2022 | 62,761 | +62,761 | +6,276,100% |
Stray was included in PlayStation Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium from the day of its release. This was a huge plus for many fans since a few people thought it would only be released for PC gamers.
While the exact figures for PlayStation are not available, specifically PS4 and PS5, it’s safe to say that the player counts and responses are somewhat similar to those reported on Steam. As a result, it can be assumed that the total figure and player counts for Stray are higher than the numbers reported on Steam alone.
Why Is Stray So Popular?
Although Stray is not the kind of game that the community is used to, this may be one of the biggest reasons why it’s such a hit within the community. Many players have found that the entire experience is pretty relaxing – but no less exciting and filled with adventure.
It’s all been topped off with some stunning imagery and visuals as well, not to mention some really fun puzzles and room for exploration, all of which bring the entire gameplay experience to life. In fact, it appears that many felines appear to love it as well!
Quite a few cat-lovers and owners have been sharing their experiences online via social media, showing them playing Stray along with their furry friends. The game is pretty enjoyable as is, but it’s definitely super entertaining to see how cats react to the game as well!
Stray Was Rated #1 According To Steam250
According to a calculation made by Steam250, as seen in a Twitter post by Skill Up, Stray actually surpassed God of War in terms of ratings on July 24th.
Stray has just surpassed God of War to become the highest rated PC game of 2022, according to Steam250s weighted calculation. pic.twitter.com/pmLuwXLS0c
— Skill Up (@SkillUpYT) July 25, 2022
It’s been calculated that Stray had accomplished a 98% approval rating shortly after its release, with a score of 8.61 based on its 46,244 votes and ratings on Steam. This put in it first place, above God of War which received a score of 8.56 and a 97% approval rating.
Of course, it’s not that like games are really easy to compare, especially since there are plenty of elements that are totally different such as combat and action. But, it does really indicate how much fans love Stray so far.
Stray On Twitch
Along with plenty of avid players, Stray has also managed to get some really impressive attention on social media, third-party platforms, and Twitch. Stray hit over 17k viewers on Twitch shortly after its release, hitting an all-time peak of 284,027 viewers.
According to Twitch, there are around 14,1k viewers actively watching Stray content at the time of writing. While it’s impossible to determine what these viewership records will look like in the future, it seems fairly stable at the moment.
With all that being said, it’s really no surprise that Stray was such a success from day one, especially considering that this game was seen as the most wish-listed game on Steam long before its official release. Although, it’s still remarkable how amazing the reviews and ratings have been for this short indie game.
Needless to say, Stray may be one of the most unique and special titles released in 2022 so far. While the player count has dipped drastically since its release, it’s still a great game that can be enjoyed by anyone. If you’re a gamer who adores cats and unexpected adventures, then Stray is definitely worth a buy.