Slay the Spire’s Surprise Second Wind
Slay the Spire might be nearly seven years old, but it is suddenly back in the spotlight. According to SteamDB, the beloved deckbuilding roguelike has just smashed its all time concurrent player record on Steam, pulling in more than 57,000 players at once during the 2025 winter sale.
That is a huge leap from its previous peak in early access back in 2018, when just over 33,000 players were climbing the spire at the same time. Even after the surge cooled off, the game settled around 35,000 concurrent players, still beating its old record.
For a single player indie card game to hit new highs this long after release says a lot about how strong the design is and how healthy the PC gaming ecosystem can be for great games that stick around.
Why Slay the Spire Is Booming Again
There are a few clear reasons why Slay the Spire has exploded again on Steam, and they all stack together like one of its famous game winning combos.
A historic low price in the Steam winter sale
The biggest catalyst is the 2025 Steam winter sale. Slay the Spire dropped to a record low of 2.49 dollars on Steam. SteamDB only tracks discount history for the past two years, but long time players do not recall it ever being this cheap.
When you combine a legendary reputation with a price on par with a pack of gum, you get an easy impulse buy during a sale where everyone is already looking to empty their Steam Wallet. For gamers building or upgrading their PC libraries, this is the sort of no brainer pickup that fits into almost any budget gaming setup.
Hype for Slay the Spire 2
The second big factor is the looming arrival of Slay the Spire 2. PC Gamer named it their most wanted game at the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted, which has driven a lot of fresh attention back to the original.
This kind of cycle is common in PC gaming. When a sequel gets a big reveal or a major marketing push, players tend to revisit or finally try the first game to get ready. New players want to see what the excitement is about, and veterans jump back in to refresh their skills and enjoy the systems they loved in the first place.
The board game effect
There is also some cross traffic from the tabletop world. Slay the Spire has a board game adaptation that leans heavily into the feel of the digital version and has earned an impressive 8.7 out of 10 user rating on BoardGameGeek.
Tabletop fans who discover the universe through the board game have an obvious next step: pick up the original PC version, especially when it is on a deep sale. It is another example of how modern PC gaming often benefits from spin offs and cross media versions that feed interest back into the core title.
Why Slay the Spire Still Holds Up on PC
None of this would matter if Slay the Spire were not still a fantastic game to play on a modern rig. But it absolutely is. In PC Gamer’s original review, Evan Lahti called it a genre bending achievement and praised how it puts absolutely broken combos within your grasp.
That is a big part of the long term appeal. Good runs in Slay the Spire feel like you hacked the game’s logic in your favor, chaining card synergies and relic effects into ridiculous turns that delete bosses in ways that feel almost illegal. That feeling of finding and executing an overpowered build never really gets old.
From a PC gamer perspective, it also has a lot going for it:
- Runs great on almost any hardware so it is perfect for budget builds, laptops, or secondary gaming PCs.
- Quick sessions make it ideal for short play bursts between bigger AAA games.
- Deep replayability means thousands of hours of value from a tiny install size.
Slay the Spire also helped kick off a wave of modern deckbuilding roguelikes, influencing countless indie PC releases that followed. Even with all the newer options, many players still consider it the gold standard for the genre.
That is likely why it can come roaring back this many years after launch. There is a whole generation of PC players who have heard about it for years but never pulled the trigger. A stacked sale, sequel hype, and word of mouth all line up, and suddenly the concurrent player charts spike.
Should You Pick It Up Now?
If you are building up a PC library or just want something lightweight and endlessly replayable, this is one of the best deals you can get. At 2.49 dollars during the winter sale, it costs less than many cosmetic microtransactions in bigger games.
Here is who will especially enjoy it:
- Strategy and card game fans who like experimenting with builds and discovering powerful combos.
- Roguelike fans who enjoy tough but fair runs where smart decisions genuinely matter.
- PC gamers on older or low end hardware who still want something deep and addictive that runs flawlessly.
- Anyone eyeing Slay the Spire 2 and wanting to understand the systems and world that made the sequel possible.
Slay the Spire’s new all time peak is a reminder that on PC, a great game can keep growing long after launch. With a rock solid core design, strong community buzz, and a sequel on the horizon, there is a good chance this spike will not be the last.
If you want to join the climb, Slay the Spire is available on Steam and is more accessible than ever for both your wallet and your gaming PC.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/slay-the-spire-gets-the-best-christmas-present-a-deckbuilder-could-ask-for-a-new-all-time-concurrent-player-peak-on-steam-nearly-7-years-after-release/
