SteamDB recorded 21,385 people playing Hell Let Loose on Steam at once on January 12, 2025, the game’s all-time Steam concurrent-player peak. That high point came two days after the stated end of its Epic Games Store giveaway, but it does not prove that Steam’s average player base doubled—or that the giveaway alone caused the spike.
What happened, and when?
A community notice dated January 2, 2025, said Hell Let Loose was free to claim on the Epic Games Store through January 9 at 16:00 GMT. The notice pointed readers to the Epic store and said an Epic account and DRM were required; it was not itself an original Epic announcement. Giveaway notice
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Hell Let Loose (Xbox Series X) | $79.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Winning Moves Hell No, Hell Yeah, Outrageous Adult Card Game | $29.08 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Hasbro Gaming Raising Hell Card Game Adult Party Game | $13.40 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Tililing | $9.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Pearly Shells | Buy on Amazon |
SteamDB lists Hell Let Loose as Steam app 686810, developed by Expression Games and published by Team17, with a Steam release date of July 27, 2021. It describes the game as a World War II first-person shooter built around 100-player battles, infantry, tanks, artillery, a shifting front line and resource-based strategy. SteamDB game page SteamDB game description
How many people were playing on Steam afterward?
SteamDB records an all-time peak of 21,385 concurrent Steam players on January 12, 2025, two days after the giveaway’s stated claim window ended. This is a simultaneous-player count on Steam, not a count of people who claimed the game on Epic, total owners, or everyone playing across platforms. SteamDB charts
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#1 Best Overall
- Fight in epic 50 vs 50 multiplayer battles.
- 9 maps with more added frequently - land at Omaha Beach, fight through Carentan and into the frozen forests of Foy before climbing Hill 400.
- Never fight the same battle twice - 99 capture point variations per map, means thousands of potential battles.
- Play and master one or many of 14 unique roles, including: Officer, Medic, Machinegunner, Commander, Crewman, Sniper and more.
- Constantly updated with new maps, weapons, features and fixes.
Did the Steam player base double?
The available figures do not establish an exact doubling. A peak is a single high-water mark, while “player base doubled” usually implies a comparison between averages or another consistent measure across defined periods. The accessible SteamDB chart material does not provide the monthly-average series needed to verify that comparison without signing in. It therefore does not establish a like-for-like pre-giveaway baseline and post-giveaway average. SteamDB chart data note
A contemporaneous report described Steam numbers rising from January 2 onward, and the later peak makes a promotional halo plausible. But timing alone cannot show that the giveaway caused the increase: the peak could reflect multiple influences, and the available figures do not isolate the promotion’s effect. Contemporaneous report
Rank #2
- HOW TO PLAY: The Dealer draws a Scenario Card and reads it aloud. The other players choose two of their Action Cards and play them, facedown. The Dealer shuffles the Action Cards and picks the one they definitely would not do, saying "HELL NO!" Then, they pick the Action Card they definitely would do, saying "HELL YEAH!"
- SITUATION: While scuba diving, your wound starts bleeding, and sharks begin to circle. What do you do?
- ACTION: Ask for an autograph! Hell No
- ACTION: Use your jetpack to escape! Hell Yeah
- REPEAT PLAY: With 135 Situation Cards and 387 Action Cards you'll never run out of wild predicaments
What the number does—and does not—tell you
- It measures concurrency: players active on Steam at the same time, not daily or monthly average participation.
- It is storefront-specific: Steam’s count does not include Epic claims or provide an all-platform total.
- It is not an ownership figure: claiming a free copy does not mean the owner was playing at the time of the Steam peak.
Why the player-base distinction matters
In a team-based game like Hell Let Loose, a larger active pool can plausibly help matchmaking and keep servers populated, but this Steam peak by itself cannot show how consistently players returned, how many were on Epic, or whether activity remained elevated after the promotion. Team17’s July 12, 2023 announcement said it wanted new features to deepen the existing experience rather than risk splitting or diluting the player base. That is historical context about its stated approach, not evidence about the January 2025 giveaway or its effect. Team17 announcement
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Rank #4
Rank #3
- Party game for adults: celebrate the absurdity of being a kid with this hilarious party game about the not-so-precious moments of growing up
- It's ok to laugh at kid fails: take a time out and play This laugh-out-loud party game that's every bit as weird as you and your friends are
- Pair a photo with a caption: admit it: kids can drive you insane. Laughing makes it all better! So take a break and have fun creating these memes about ridiculous kids
- Take turns being the judge: players take turns being the judge deciding who wins the round; the player with the most photo cards wins the raising Hell card game
- Includes 372 cards: The raising Hell party game includes 300 caption cards and 72 photo cards; The player with the best caption for each photo round wins
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
