An old racing game on Steam now has 20 times as many players as usual

A “Need for Speed” is currently fighting its way through the Steam leaderboards. We reveal what’s behind the sudden hype.

It’s actually rare for old games to really take off again on Steam. If it does happen, it usually has a very clear reason – and this time it was the same.

One of the most popular racing game series in the world has not really been able to establish itself on Steam, but suddenly the number of players in “Need for Speed ​​Heat” explodes.

How have the player numbers developed? “Erratic” would be an understatement. Need for Speed ​​Heat (NFSH) has been bobbing around on Steam since its release with quite a low number of players.

At the launch there were a maximum of 6,000 players at the peak, during two big sales the number rose again to 10,000 and 13,000. Typically, NFSH peak numbers hover in the 2,500 to 4,000 player range – until now.

For the past few days, NFSH has experienced a surge in player numbers. Old records were literally shattered, because on Thursday evening (09/29) the number of simultaneous players rose to over 36,000.

In the meantime, this peak has grown again and there are currently over 55,000 simultaneous players at the peak.

Where is the increase coming from? There are two main reasons for this. For one, Need for Speed ​​Heat is currently on Free Weekend, so you can try the racing game for free. At the same time, however, there is a sale in which the price of the title is reduced by a whopping 95% – from the original €70 to the current €3.50.

This obviously motivates many players to try the racing game at least once or to add it permanently to their collection.

Or, as a meme on the Steam subreddit sums it up:

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Is Need for Speed ​​Heat worth it? In the end everyone has to decide that for themselves. However, the current price of €3.50 should be manageable, even if you only invest a few hours in the game. If in doubt, it’s worth taking advantage of the “Free Weekend” in advance to at least get an impression of NFSH.

NFSH currently has 84% ​​positive reviews on Steam. Many have hailed the game as one of the “best Need for Speed ​​titles,” coming close to classics like Need for Speed: Underground and Most Wanted.

A big point of criticism is that in order to use Need for Speed: Heat the installation of the “EA Origin” software is necessary. This is still a hurdle for many potential buyers and keeps them from making a purchase.

Have you checked out Need for Speed ​​Heat yet? Or does the game land directly on your “pile of shame” that you will never touch again?

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