ACC player counts in review: May 2022

Boosted by the release of the Challengers DLC, last month saw Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC) reach a lot of new records in terms of player activity. I expected player counts for this month, May 2022, to drop. Now that the month is over and we have safely reached June, it is time to look back. Did the player counts drop? And if so, by how much? Read on to find out!

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 both steamdb and steamcharts. I implement the data into my own spreadsheets, creating my own graphics and tables.

A short TL;DR in advance:

• ACC’s player activity has dropped, but (partial thanks to a strategically placed free weekend) not by much
• The latter part of May showed a sign of things to come, with a ~4500 average
• We are still well above last year’s activity, meaning the game is still performing very strongly

May 2022: comparing daily ACC player counts

While April set many records, there was also a decline within the month. So much so, that the second part of April averaged at about 5000 players daily on peak concurrent times. As you can see in figure 1 below, that is exactly how May starts out as well.

At least, for the first 5 days. Because after, 505 Games gave ACC its second-ever free weekend on Steam. This saw player activity soar to over 7000 active concurrent players on Sunday, May 8th. 7091 to be exact.

Intermission: comparing Free Weekends

Comparatively, the week leading up to this month’s free weekend had an average of 5032, whereas the free weekend itself had an average of 6385 peak concurrent players (with the aforementioned peak of 7091). This is an increase of 26.9% during the free weekend. Quite a lot lower than before, especially relatively speaking.

In terms of lasting effects, the week after the free weekend had an average of 5356, which is an increase of… 6.4%. Exactly the same as the first free weekend! Who said statistics can’t be fun?!

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Back to May 2022. After the free weekend, the game kept above 5000 concurrent players for a little while, before dipping down it on Wednesday, May 18th. It kept below 5K for 4 consecutive days. While it went up again, it also went down again, as low as 3839 on Saturday, May 28th. But also recovering back up to above 5K immediately after.

As you can see in figure 3 above, this means that May 2022 has been a wild ride. Not only has it achieved the single highest peak of the year so far, but it also reached the deepest low of the year so far.

May 2022: comparing weekly ACC player counts

In terms of weekly averages, the graph smoothens out a bit, although it still shows the up-and-down nature of this month’s numbers. Have a look at figure 4;

The first week saw an average of 5032, quickly followed by a steep rise to 5755 caused by the free weekend. The subsequent weeks saw a steady yet steep decline: first to 5412 (-343), then to 4910 (-502), and lastly down to 4555 (-355).

This brings ACC back to the numbers encountered last year (May 2021, in grey in the figure above), and this might very well be a sign of things to come now that the ‘newness’ of the Challengers DLC wears off.

Below you can see which days of the week (on average) proved to be more popular in May:

Like last month, Monday and Sunday prove to be a lot more popular days for racing than the other days. However, not much else can be said about this particular graph – so let us move on!

May 2022: comparing monthly ACC player counts

May’s average peak concurrent player count managed to set a respectable 5168. In last month’s article, I wrote that I hoped May would stick close to 5000. We even managed to stay above that imaginary border.

However, the free weekend does mean these numbers are somewhat inflated. But, even with the free weekend removed, the average is still a respectable 4988 – very close to 5000!

In terms of growth (both relative and absolute), May’s decline is ‘only’ 4.65%, or 252 in absolute numbers. While a decline is nothing to cheer for, April’s record-setting numbers mean that we are still -on average- well above March’s numbers. So there is no need to panic. Far from it, even.

Looking forward to June 2022 and beyond

Last month, I wrote:

The upcoming decline is something that is inevitably going to happen, whether we like it or not. The past two summers each saw player activity decline, but this decline manifested itself truly in June (-8.5% in 2020, -11.4% in 2021). However, because of the high numbers we encountered in April, I would not be surprised if this decline hits a bit earlier this year.

ACC player counts in review: April 2022

Not only does this ring at least moderately true, but it also bears repeating. The final weeks of May showed what is likely to come for ACC’s player activity: regular dips below 4K, and at best a 4500 average.

Yet, this is to be expected. ACC is, and will always be a very niche game. Nobody expects this game to have infinite growth. If we are able to keep above 2021’s player activity, that will be a win in my book.

This means that if next month’s average is above 4296, the game is still doing very fine. If we are able to keep this up? You will read it in next month’s article!

What are your thoughts? Any prophecies you are willing to share regarding the upcoming month(s)? Let me know in the comments below, and I will see you next month for another month in review!

Overview & Previous Articles

• May 2022 (avg. 5168, -4.65%)
• April 2022 (avg. 5420, +11.98%)
• March 2022 (avg. 4840, -5.12%)
• February 2022 (avg. 5101, -5.4%)
• January 2022 (avg. 5391, +17.2%)
• 2021 Round-up
• December 2021 (avg. 4595, +9.1%)
• November 2021 (avg. 4212, +10.8%)
• October 2021 (avg. 3800, -1.0%)
• September 2021 (avg. 3839, + 7.8%)
• August 2021 (avg. 3560, +4.3%)
• July 2021 (avg. 3412, -20.6%)
• June 2021 (avg. 4296, -11.4%)
• May 2021 (avg. 4849, +3.0%)
• April 2021 (avg. 4709, +3.2%)
• March 2021 (avg. 4565, -6.2%)
• February 2021 (avg. 4867, +8.1%)
• January 2021 (avg. 4501, +12.0%)
• 2020 Round-up
• December 2020 (avg. 4018, -6.9%)
• November 2020 (avg. 4314, +34.0%)
• October 2020 (avg. 3220, +7.9%)
• September 2020 (avg. 2985, +11.1%)
• August 2020 (avg. 2685, -19.0%)
• July 2020 (avg. 3316, +9.8%)
• June 2020 (avg. 3021, -8.5%)
• May 2020 (avg. 3301, +15.4%)
• April 2020 (avg. 2860, +30.6%)
• March 2020 (avg. 2190, +1.4%)

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