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It's rare to see an anime greatly influence a game's popularity on Steam, but that's precisely what happened with Edgerunners and Cyberpunk 2077. The number of players in the last 30 days peaked yesterday, with 86,068 players playing simultaneously, as opposed to August's peak of 18,695 players.
Quadrupling those numbers is no small feat, especially for a 2020 game. A new update for Cyberpunk 2077 was released on September 6, 2022. It is the 1.6 patch, also otherwise known as the Edgerunners Update.
Several things were introduced here, but the most notable one was the addition of some anime-related content to the game.
Looking at how the Cyberpunk anime contributed to the game's popularity on Steam
It's worth looking at the hard data first before diving into the great anime that pushed the numbers and checking out some of the new content from this month's update. Here is a summary of the important data to extrapolate from Steamcharts:
- The peak players in the last 30 days were achieved in the previous 24 hours
- That peak was reached at 86,068
- The game hasn't seen this peak since January 2021, which was a month after the game was initially released
- 73,995 players were playing at around 11:30 AM PDT (this is the 36 minutes ago section)
Thus, it's easy to deduce that the game has become very active again, thanks to both the new update and the Cyberpunk anime drawing interest to it.
The Cyberpunk anime
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners debuted on Netflix on September 13, 2022, to critical acclaim. There are ten episodes in total, and there is no shortage of raunchy scenes, gore, and memorable characters. It doesn't require viewers to play the game to fully understand the premise, making it thankfully welcoming for people to enjoy before proceeding to the game.
Stunning animation, coupled with a memorable cast of characters, makes for something that anybody can enjoy, provided they're okay with mature themes.
Some people don't like spoilers. Similarly, some readers may love the game but haven't checked out the show yet. Keeping this in mind, spoilers have not been included here. Anybody who loves playing Cyberpunk 2077 on Steam should honestly give the anime a go.
The Edgerunners update
It should come across as no surprise that a popular show would generate a ton of interest for the game. The sheer number of new and returning players is amazing. Best of all, the numbers have risen to their peak as recently as September 20, 2022.
If so much can change in a day, who knows how far this game's new peak players may reach? The full patch notes for the most recent update can be seen in the following Tweet.
Some of the new changes included:
- Cross-progression
- Various secret content related to the Edgerunners anime
- Several new weapons
- Three new gigs
- A multitude of bug fixes
Curious gamers are strongly recommended to check out the full patch notes if they want to learn more.
One interesting thing is that players can revisit some of the iconic show locations in Cyberpunk 2077. The above YouTube video showcases some of those memorable areas, and it's still just a part of the cool update that gamers can enjoy.
The popular title has gone a long way since its inception, so it's great to see it get some love to this day.
