Banana Clicker Game Faces Steep Drop in Steam Players

Since peaking in June 2024, the Banana clicker game on Steam has seen a steady decline in active players. Discover the reasons behind its rise and fall.

Banana Game’s Steam Charts Reflect Sharp Decline

A Simple Clicker Game Centered on Bananas

Launched on Steam on April 23, 2024, Banana quickly gained traction as a minimalist clicker game, reaching a record high of 917,272 concurrent players in June 2024. However, recent SteamDB data shows a significant drop in player numbers from November 2024 onward.

For those unfamiliar, Banana is a free-to-play title that breaks from traditional gaming norms. The core mechanic involves repeatedly clicking a banana image. Its appeal stems not from gameplay depth but from the ability to earn virtual banana items, which can be sold on the Steam Community Market. Some rare items, like the "Special Golden Banana," have fetched prices as high as $1,378.58.

The game’s rapid rise was fueled by the promise of easy Steam Wallet earnings, drawing a massive player base. Developer Hery described it as a "legal infinite money glitch" in a June 2024 Polygon interview. However, this popularity also attracted bots programmed to farm valuable items, inflating player counts artificially.

"We’re facing issues with botting since the game uses minimal PC resources," Hery told Polygon. "Some players are exploiting up to 1,000 alternate accounts to farm rare drops or bulk items."

In May 2024, developers introduced anti-bot measures, but it’s unclear if the current 100,000+ players are legitimate. Player numbers dropped sharply after the June peak, falling to an average of 549,091 by July 2024. By November 2024, the count plummeted from 400,000 to just over 100,000. Despite a brief surge at the start of 2025, the game has not recovered its former popularity.

Banana still maintains 112,966 concurrent players, ranking 7th on Steam’s Most Played Games list. Yet, a sudden drop to around 50,000 players occurred on March 16, 2025, between 17:00 and 23:00 UTC. The cause of this dip remains uncertain, with no clear evidence of bot involvement. The overall decline likely reflects fading novelty.

Developers have kept the game fresh with trading cards, event drops, and quality-of-life updates. They’ve also introduced user-generated banana art via the Steam Workshop, with creators earning a share of sales. Whether these efforts can revive the game’s peak popularity without bot-driven inflation remains uncertain.