In July, players remembered Artifact again. Steam users noticed that the game's online presence has significantly increased recently.
It usually stayed at a level of several hundred players, but in recent weeks, the SteamDB service has registered several sharp spikes. This weekend, the peak online presence exceeded 10 thousand players - a figure not seen for several years.
It is assumed that this is not nostalgia or a sudden surge of interest in Artifact, but the result of several thousand bot accounts.
However, some took what happened with humor and "prophesy" the success of Artifact and Linux. One community member joked: "It took eight years, but people finally heard the gospel of Artifact. We're back in business. 2026 will be the year of Artifact. I feel it."
AkelaHardware supported and added: "2026 will be the year of Linux and Artifact. With such forces, Valve will be able to overthrow Microsoft, and Gabe and Bill Gates will finally have a boxing match to decide whose operating system will dominate."