Roblox Hits Fresh Player Record, Towering Over Steam and Fortnite, Amid 'War' Between its Two Most Popular Games, Grow a Garden and Steal a Brainrot

Roblox player numbers have hit a fresh high, amid a weekend event that saw the platform's two biggest games go to "war" to see which could attract the most players.

According to public player data tracked by Fortnite.gg, Roblox hit an eye-watering high of 47 million players last Saturday, August 23, as the evergreen Grow a Garden and new rival Steal a Brainrot staged an "admin war" among their creators, designed to draw in as many players as possible to each game.

The stunt marked a fresh player peak for Roblox, after a summer of all-time high engagement, during which the platform has seen regular weekend peaks of around 30 million players.

By comparison, the entirety of Steam as a platform drew a peak of 37.9 million online accounts on August 23, with 11.2 million in-game (per SteamDB). Fortnite, meanwhile, recorded a daily peak of 1.6 million players. Steam previously topped 40 million online accounts for the first time earlier this year, following the launch of Monster Hunter Wilds.

Individually, on August 23, Grow a Garden recorded a peak of 22 million players, while Steal a Brainrot drew in 15 million. The viral Grow a Garden sees players purchasing and growing plants, including rare varieties only available for a limited time, something which encourages huge player spikes as users rush to log in. Steal a Brainrot, meanwhile, tasks players with hoarding Pokémon-like creatures, and nabbing them from rivals.

Roblox's popularity comes amid continuing work by the platform to try and improve player safety, following a string of controversies tied to the experiences of its typically young audience. Last month, Roblox announced a new age estimation technology to help verify teens, and the ability for them to allow "trusted connections" with whom they will be able to chat on the platform without filters.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social