Viral Steam Game ‘Banana’ Is Beating Out Apex & GTA 5

Time and again, there come video games that go viral, and deservedly so. However, this time, a ‘game’ called Banana has taken up a spot in the top 100 most-played games on Steam. With a whopping 418,116 players currently in-game at the time of writing and 24-hour peak of 420K+(as per SteamDB), Banana is now in the top 5. It’s just after CS2, PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, and Dota 2.

In fact, video games like Elden Ring, Destiny 2, Monster Hunter World and even Rust are lagging behind Banana.

So, how do you play Banana? You…just…click. That’s it! This a free-to-play clicker game where you click the banana to increase the counter on screen. After releasing on 23rd April 2024, it steadily gained a fan following and has 10,000+ Very Positive reviews on Steam. If you have heard of the game ‘Egg’ (which also has 7K+ Very Positive reviews), Banana is similar.

If you want a fancier looking banana instead of the traditional yellow one, all you have to do is click on the in-game shop and choose between the designs of a Hacked Banana, Disconana, Blackholenana, Shinobinana, and Biosnana.

Why is the Banana game so Popular on Steam?

There’s actually a real reason why Banana is popular on Steam, and that’s because the game features Steam Community Market integration, which allows players to buy and sell in-game items using real money. So, as you keep playing the game, you will get 1x common item every 3 hours. Just launch the game every 3 hours to get 1 item and 1x rare item every 18 hours. In total, you can get 2 items in a day.

If you head to the Steam Marketplace, you’ll see some Bananas for sale, among some CS2 cases and Team Fortress 2 keys. For example, there’s this rare Diamond Banana which has quite a high price. There’s also Crypticnana, Sad Hamster Banana, Shiny Banana, Cybernana and more.

As explained by Forbes, if you get a skin drop that costs 3 cents and you sell it, you earn 1 cent because the other 2 cents are divided between Valve and the game’s developer. The ability to buy and sell in-game items, particularly the rare banana skins, introduces a layer of investment and potential profit. This can attract players who are hoping to get lucky with a valuable drop.

The chance of getting a rare item worth hundreds of dollars with minimal effort is what keeps many of these Banana players going. Due to the nature of this concept, there might be bots at play which is what’s causing the player count, because even players interested in clicker games will find Banana super, super bland.

It’s important to remember that the odds of getting a truly valuable item are very low. However, in case you’re interested in checking out a game like this – for the memes, absurdity, or the marketplace element, now is the time to try it out. Because unlike other top-ranking games on Steam, this is a viral ‘game’ that may not stay viral for long.