ACC player counts in review: August 2023

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The summer is in full swing which traditionally means one thing for Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC): low(er) player activity across the board. But by how much will this summer dip impact ACC player activity? That is what we will try to find out in this post as we dive into the numbers set by August 2023!

A short TL;DR in advance:

  • The player activity declined in August 2023 by 9.11%, but this was expected
  • The 3-month summer decline is just 0.02% more than the same period in 2022
  • Temperatures in The Netherlands seem directly impacting overall peak player counts

In this series of articles – I’ve been doing this since March 2020 – I analyze the playercounts from Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC) using data from steamdb. I implement the data into my own spreadsheets, creating my own graphics and tables.

Contents

  1. Looking back: July 2023
  2. August 2023: Comparing daily ACC player counts
  3. August 2023: Comparing weekly ACC player counts
  4. August 2023: Comparing monthly ACC player counts
  5. Looking forward to next month: September 2023
  6. Overview & Previous Articles

Looking back: July 2023

Before we do look at the numbers of August 2023, though, let us look back at the TL;DR of the July (and June’s) 2023 review:

  • ACC’s summers are normally marked by low activity, and this year is no different
  • Poor temperatures in Western Europe might have lessened the effect in July, as activity slightly increased
  • ACC is performing much stronger than the same time last year, meaning we have not peaked yet.

Whereas June had a sizeable decline, July had a slight growth compared to June. Most likely due to lower-than-expected temperatures. At least for Western Europe. Now that August has been done and dusted, let’s look and what temperatures, errr, and player counts we encountered!

August 2023: Comparing daily ACC player counts

Fig. 1: Peak concurrent (red) and average (grey) player counts

Whereas the summer heat was lackluster for large parts of Western Europe in July, August had a few good weeks of summer heat with temperatures reaching just south of 30C. Can you spot which weeks? Yes, it’s those in the middle when peak concurrent player counts were stuck below 4K. And when the temperatures went down again, up went the concurrent player counts. I kid you not, look at this graph of peak temperatures in The Netherlands.

This drop in temperature right at the end of the month salvaged the trendline, making it near horizontal ~4100 for August 2023.

The lowest low was reached on Saturday, August 19th with 3530 racers clocking in simultaneously. Monday, August 28th, reached the highest high with 4631 players. A variance of 1101 (23.8%).

Looking at the average (non-peak) player counts, there are again 4 clear weekends that people use to play more on. But, especially the middle two are less pronounced. Likely due to the summer holidays giving kids more time to spend racing during weekdays. Maybe. Possibly.

Fig. 2: Daily player counts for 2023 (from January 1st to August 31st)

Putting these numbers in the graph containing all daily peaks and averages (Figure 2, above), you can more clearly see the summer dip at work, and the subsequent recovery in the past week.

August 2023: Comparing weekly ACC player counts

Fig. 3: Weekly average concurrent player counts for 2023 so far.

The effect of the summer dip can perhaps be better understood when looking at weekly averages, as seen in the graph above. While after the update the average peak player count held steady for a few months between 4300-4600, but has now finally dipped down to about 3900-4000.

Same for the total, non-average player counts. These have dipped below the 2K line for 3 weeks in a row. Showing that the summer dip is not just during peak hours.

Putting these numbers in historical context (Figure 4, below) we can see that at its lowest, were at the same point we were in 2022. So, there’s no immediate cause for alarm. Still, it would’ve been nice if we had managed to stay ahead of 2022’s numbers.

Fig. 4: Weekly average peak concurrent player counts for 2023 so far (red) compared to 2022 (white) and 2021 (grey).

But, how do those numbers stack up every month? Find out in the next paragraph!

August 2023: Comparing monthly ACC player counts

Fig. 5: All-time peak and average player counts

With all this knowledge under our belt, it is no surprise to see the average peak concurrent player count dipping down to 4083, and the average (non-peak) player count to 1992. Compared to July’s 4492, this is a decline of 409 concurrent players, or 9.11% as seen in Figure 6 below.

Fig. 6: Relative growth of monthly average peak player counts

This decline fits pretty well within the historical trend, looking at Figure 7 (below). Yes, August 2021 saw growth in August, but that was mostly due to July 2021 having a near 21% drop off.

Fig. 7: Relative growth since January 2020, grouped by month

Figure 6 shows that the decline of 9.11% might sound big, but it is not world-shattering. In Figure 7, for instance, you can see that the decline in August has been much more in 2020. And, since July 2023 saw slight growth, the decline over the past two months is less than last year. But the most remarkable thing happens if we calculate the decline over the past 3 months, and compare it to previous years:

  • (August 2023 (4083) – May 2023 (5419)) / May 2023 (5419) = -24.65%
  • (August 2022 (3895) – May 2022 (5168)) / May 2022 (5168) = -24.63%
  • (August 2021 (3560) – May 2021 (4849)) / May 2021 (4849) = -26.58%

The summer decline in 2023 is only .02% bigger than last year. And on a positive note, it is 2% less than the summer decline of 2021.

Fig. 8: Absolute growth since January 2020 grouped by month
Fig. 9: Absolute growth since January 2020, grouped by month

The graphs above show the decline but in absolute amounts instead of relative percentages. For the course of this discussion (longitudinal developments), absolute numbers are less relevant so I will not cover them too much.

Fig. 10: Monthly peak concurrent averages by year

Some absolute numbers that do matter are the fact that the 4083 we achieved in August 2023 was still the best scoring August yet, as can be seen in Figure 10 above. Despite the decline, it was still about 200 more than last year and 500 over 2021s August average peak concurrent player count.

This should mean a rise in the year-on-year monthly peak average, and lo and behold, Figure 11 (below) shows just that with the YoY average climbing a little bit from 4652 to 4667. For this number to keep rising, next month should have a peak concurrent average player count of more than 4208, which should be within the realm of possibilities. But more on that later.

Fig. 11: 12-month running average of peak concurrent player counts

Looking forward to next month: September 2023

Temperature is everything, and so it has been this last month. For fun, I overlayed the temperature graph for The Netherlands on the player statistics. And what do you know, it perfectly aligns. As seen in Figure 12 below.

Fig. 12: Temperature versus ACC player activity in August

First, the temperature dips to 15.8, only for the peak player count to increase to 4540. Then, when the temperature peaks at 27.5, the player activity dips to 3631. And when the temperature dips first to 22.3 and later to 20.3, the player count recovers to 4189 and 4159 respectively. And 8 days with temperatures not dropping below 23 sees the game not surpassing 4K players concurrently.

I’ve always alluded to a causal relationship between temperatures and player activity, and this is the most clear example of this happening. Sure, this is the only temperature for the Netherlands, but I imagine the temperatures are very similar in large parts of Germany, England, and Belgium. Some of the biggest active communities in ACC, at least during the traditional peak hours (between 20:00 and 22:00 CEST).

This means that, if we want to keep the YoY average growing, we not only need an average of 4208 next month but also favorable temperatures to do so. For now, at least in The Netherlands, the first week of September is due to have temperatures reaching the high 20s. This will probably result in a slow start to September in terms of player activity. But if the temperatures go back to 20 degrees Celsius quickly thereafter, 4208 should be attainable.

I hope the devs have had a good summer vacation and that we will soon hear word on the future of ACC and more details on AC2, which is slated for a 2024 release (albeit most likely in Early Access).

What are your thoughts on the future of ACC? Let me know in the comments below!

Overview & Previous Articles

2023

2022

2021

2020

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2 Responses

  1. ACC player counts in review: September 2023 - FELIXDICIT
    October 4, 2023

    […] September 2023, though, let us look back at the numbers (fig. 1 on the right) and the TL;DR of the August 2023 review below. August had a total peak average of 4083, with a range between 3530 minimum and 4631 […]

  2. ACC player counts in review: December 2023 - FELIXDICIT
    January 2, 2024

    […] August 2023 (avg. 4083, -9.11%) […]

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