Free Capcom game causes confusion

If you look at the number of players on the Steam platform, the top places are taken by the same long-running hits like CS: GO, Dota 2 and Co. At most, top-class new releases can provide a change there. Hence, the recent triumph of a free game from Capcom seems rather strange. The game, which was released in May 2021, is going through the roof even though nobody actually plays it. What’s the matter?

Steam player numbers: what is the Capcom game doing there?

Both Top games in terms of player numbers there is seldom much movement on Steam. As usual, the PC hit CS: GO, Dota 2 and PUBG romp in the top places. Hit sensations or big releases can get involved every now and then, but this is not the order of the day.

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A look at the current charts of the most played games on Steam is all the more astonishing: Instead of getting the usual sight, it is at the all-time high with over 488,000 End of the game a new game among the top places – Capcom Arcade Stadium. (Source: Steam DB)

It’s not really new, because Capcom’s emulator game was released in May 2021. In it you can old Arcade classics in one collection experience. However, the free base game only contains the Shoot’em up 1943: The Battle of Midway.

So why this rush of players? Has a fresh update caused a storm of enthusiasm? Or is it trendy on Twitch right now? No, the answer is much simpler. The supposed masses of players are not at all people sitting behind their PC screens, but a bunch of bots.

Why are bots storming Capcom Arcade Stadium?

Did the bots suddenly feel like shooting around in planes? No of course not. Bots are often programmed on Steam to lie in wait for game changes, in order to be able to make a profit from it. For example, when a paid game becomes a free game.

The associated Game trading cards are then collected en masse by the bots and sold on Steam’s in-house marketplace. In the case of Capcom’s Arcade Stadium, trading cards have been added to the free game for the first time. Time for the bots to strike immediately here too. (Source: Twitter)

You look up-to-date in the statistics of the player numbers, the rush for the prey has already subsided and the bots have moved on. Or fall into their hibernation until the next profit opportunity. Right now there are romping about under 1,000 players in Capcom Arcade Stadium – so probably real people again. (Source: SteamDB)

There are always real curiosities on Steam – like the idle game Cookie Clicker, which recently celebrated its comeback on the platform:

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