Clearly, this is for all time, not just current, active players. (obviously as it is from the player id count of who obtained certain achievements.)
The article:
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A recently discovered hole in Valve's API allowed observers to generate extremely precise and publicly accessible data for the total number of players for thousands of Steam games. While Valve has now closed this inadvertent data leak, Ars can still provide the data it revealed as a historical record of the aggregate popularity of a large portion of the Steam library. From the report:
The new data derivation method, as ably explained in a Medium post from The End Is Nigh developer Tyler Glaiel, centers on the percentage of players who have accomplished developer-defined Achievements associated with many games on the service. On the Steam web site, that data appears rounded to two decimal places. In the Steam API, however, the Achievement percentages were, until recently, provided to an extremely precise 16 decimal places.
This added precision means that many Achievement percentages can only be factored into specific whole numbers. (This is useful since each game's player count must be a whole number.) With multiple Achievements to check against, it's possible to find a common denominator that works for all the percentages with high reliability. This process allows for extremely accurate reverse engineering of the denominator representing the total player base for an Achievement percentage. As Glaiel points out, for instance, an Achievement earned by 0.012782207690179348 percent of players on his game translates precisely to 8 players out of 62,587 without any rounding necessary (once some vagaries of floating point representation are ironed out).
Ars has shared the Achievement-derived player numbers in their ____ there's also a handy CSV file. Some of the titles with the most total unique players include Team Fortress 2 (50,191,347 player estimate), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (46,305,966 player estimate), PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS (36,604,134 player estimate), Unturned (27,381,399 player estimate), and Left 4 Dead 2 (23,143,723 player estimate).Code: Select all
Title Players Estimate Steam App ID
Team Fortress 2 50,191,347 440
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 46,305,966 730
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 36,604,134 578080
Unturned 27,381,399 304930
Left 4 Dead 2 23,143,723 550
PAYDAY 2 18,643,807 218620
Garry's Mod 18,576,379 4000
Warframe 16,332,217 230410
Counter-Strike: Source 15,001,876 240
Paladins 14,371,946 444090
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 13,235,488 72850
Terraria 13,132,545 105600
Portal 2 13,062,700 620
Sid Meier's Civilization V 12,701,498 8930
Grand Theft Auto V 12,604,123 271590
Borderlands 2 11,218,936 49520
Robocraft 10,145,493 301520
Rocket League 10,110,342 252950
Portal 9,971,481 400
War Thunder 9,536,732 236390
Rust 9,147,240 252490
ARK: Survival Evolved 9,103,947 346110
Half-Life 2 8,877,286 220
Brawlhalla 8,646,824 291550
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare 8,260,157 219640
Trove 7,700,319 304050
Path of Exile 7,634,137 238960
Killing Floor 7,395,545 1250
The Binding of Isaac 7,172,818 113200
No More Room in Hell 7,144,320 224260
Alien Swarm 6,667,813 630
Warface 6,656,284 291480
Fallout 4 6,601,188 377160
Arma 3 6,404,450 107410
Cities: Skylines 6,132,366 255710
Insurgency 6,007,744 222880
Euro Truck Simulator 2 5,982,548 227300
APB Reloaded 5,874,946 113400
Age of Empires II HD 5,824,316 221380
Dirty Bomb 5,760,753 333930
Dead by Daylight 5,757,369 381210
SMITE 5,751,466 386360
Castle Crashers 5,555,066 204360
The Forest 5,552,274 242760
Tomb Raider 5,495,033 203160
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 5,479,626 292030
Wallpaper Engine 5,279,723 431960
Saints Row IV 5,275,914 206420
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 5,267,226 10180
Spiral Knights 5,226,655 99900
Loadout 5,224,448 208090
Black Squad 5,223,468 550650
Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies 5,222,958 273110
Fallout: New Vegas 5,222,533 22380
Saints Row: The Third 5,143,189 55230
Magicka 4,976,290 42910
Torchlight II 4,963,949 200710
PAYDAY The Heist 4,944,712 24240
Stardew Valley 4,913,541 413150
Evolve Stage 2 4,826,928 273350
Company of Heroes 2 4,654,955 231430
Left 4 Dead 4,604,963 500
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition 4,585,616 20920
BioShock Infinite 4,563,627 8870
Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead 4,514,397 33930
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor 4,468,234 241930
ORION: Prelude 4,419,554 104900
Day of Defeat: Source 4,419,447 300
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition 4,398,897 489830
Clicker Heroes 4,338,397 363970
Starbound 4,309,358 211820
Blacklight: Retribution 4,268,464 209870
Mount & Blade: Warband 4,219,791 48700
Space Engineers 4,204,751 244850
7 Days to Die 4,184,553 251570
Dead Island 4,182,465 91310
Just Cause 2 4,161,156 8190
Magic Duels 4,109,602 316010
Borderlands 4,079,485 8980
Goat Simulator 4,065,978 265930
Life is Strange - Episode 1 4,017,852 319630
Killing Floor 2 3,980,635 232090
theHunter Classic 3,979,429 253710
Half-Life 2: Episode One 3,917,529 380
Infestation: The New Z 3,888,922 555570
AdVenture Capitalist 3,759,378 346900
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3,759,377 42700
Realm of the Mad God 3,757,613 200210
Dishonored 3,700,352 205100
Sid Meier‰Ûªs Civilization VI 3,680,328 289070
BattleBlock Theater 3,605,148 238460
Undertale 3,581,310 391540
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad with Rising Storm 3,501,161 35450
Just Survive 3,491,666 295110
Empire: Total War 3,491,439 10500
Dying Light 3,467,531 239140
Fallout Shelter 3,371,793 588430
Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition 3,350,407 214950
DARK SOULS III 3,294,533 374320
DARK SOULS: Prepare To Die Edition 3,289,250 211420
Half-Life 2: Episode Two 3,281,382 420
LIMBO 3,207,480 48000
DOOM 3,197,626 379720
Crusader Kings II 3,170,312 203770
Human: Fall Flat 3,097,845 477160
Call of Duty: Black Ops III 3,021,623 311210
America's Army 3 3,014,457 13140
Call of Duty: Black Ops II 2,998,561 202970
Gotham City Impostors Free to Play 2,982,059 206210
Fistful of Frags 2,973,385 265630
Super Meat Boy 2,970,487 40800
Sniper Elite V2 2,946,959 63380
A,V,A, Alliance of Valiant Arms 2,876,701 102700
Subnautica 2,866,791 264710
DC Universe Online 2,863,993 24200
Prison Architect 2,856,218 233450
The Walking Dead 2,846,244 207610
This War of Mine 2,817,954 282070
Outlast 2,813,619 238320
Hitman: Absolution 2,805,822 203140
Trine 2: Complete Story 2,791,654 35720
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth 2,756,509 250900
SpeedRunners 2,753,552 207140
Ace of Spades: Battle Builder 2,699,933 224540
Dungeon Defenders II 2,642,504 236110
Just Cause 2: Multiplayer Mod 2,625,503 259080
Amnesia: The Dark Descent 2,609,222 57300
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth 2,606,575 65980
Deceit 2,604,178 466240
Sanctum 2 2,602,292 210770
Hotline Miami 2,584,720 219150
Bastion 2,577,876 107100
Zombie Panic Source 2,573,292 17500
South Park: The Stick of Truth 2,533,584 213670
"Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II" 2,492,053 15620
Rise of the Tomb Raider 2,491,210 391220
Dustforce DX 2,490,746 65300
Dungeon Defenders 2,483,252 65800
Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition 2,467,996 200260
Block N Load 2,434,754 299360
Guns of Icarus Online 2,424,726 209080
Viscera Cleanup Detail: Shadow Warrior 2,418,851 255520
Toribash 2,371,160 248570
World of Guns: Gun Disassembly 2,367,076 262410
Dino D-Day 2,364,083 70000
Just Cause 3 2,345,094 225540
Survarium 2,337,644 355840
Mafia II 2,312,872 50130
"Papers, Please" 2,306,775 239030
Dead Island Riptide 2,299,047 216250
Tabletop Simulator 2,297,649 286160
ARK: Survival Of The Fittest 2,284,297 407530
Golf With Your Friends 2,271,522 431240
Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition 2,240,464 35140
XCOM 2 2,222,475 268500
Darkest Dungeon 2,214,527 262060
Napoleon: Total War 2,178,916 34030
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel 2,176,285 261640
Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine 2,153,213 113020
How to Survive 2 2,150,505 360170
Banished 2,147,445 242920
Fallen Earth Free2Play 2,139,999 113420
Sanctum 2,088,528 91600
Total War: WARHAMMER 2,085,605 364360
Transformice 2,070,157 335240
Codename CURE 2,044,268 355180
Serious Sam 3: BFE 2,029,621 41070
Metro 2033 Redux 2,025,648 286690
Stick Fight: The Game 2,007,237 674940
Plague Inc: Evolved 2,002,770 246620
Tropico 4 2,000,449 57690
Natural Selection 2 1,993,899 4920
Europa Universalis IV 1,983,657 236850
Stellaris 1,967,015 281990
Star Conflict 1,960,641 212070
Gear Up 1,922,501 214420
POSTAL 2 1,911,217 223470
GunZ 2: The Second Duel 1,895,812 242720
ArcheBlade 1,886,025 207230
Surgeon Simulator 1,879,150 233720
The Long Dark 1,875,963 305620
Broforce 1,863,667 274190
Depth 1,853,782 274940
Line of Sight 1,853,533 436520
Source Filmmaker 1,852,569 1840
Batman: Arkham Origins 1,851,868 209000
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide 1,843,514 235540
Risk of Rain 1,825,993 248820
AirMech Strike 1,823,483 206500
America's Army: Proving Grounds 1,823,295 203290
Wolfenstein: The New Order 1,819,928 201810
Sniper Elite 3 1,810,081 238090
Alan Wake 1,804,210 108710
Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop 1,788,990 563560
Mad Max 1,775,140 234140
METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN 1,750,593 287700
Max Payne 3 1,740,909 204100
Cuphead 1,735,419 268910
Worms Revolution 1,730,275 200170
Crossout 1,727,005 386180