Google Search interest versus Steam concurrent players

Source google search on get_growth and get_time_series returns a weekly 0-100 Google Search interest series for one phrase. Source steam returns a monthly 0-100 concurrent-player series for a game display name, plus an independent player-count volume field. Both pulls on October 12, 2026 used the string Elden Ring. Google Search held 261 weekly points from 2021-10-16 through 2026-10-10 and closed 4.0, with series volume 1142857. Steam held 55 monthly points from 2022-03-01 through 2026-09-01 and closed 2.2, with series volume 54228. Search 12M rose 33.33 percent from 3.0. Steam 12M rose 450.0 percent from 0.4, while player-count volume rose 34.44 percent from 40335.0. Steam 7D, 1W, and 14D collapsed. Search 7D did not. The live boards use type Google Trends and type Steam Most Played, not those source strings.

Steam close sits a month behind Search

The October 12, 2026 pull is the grain split that still matters next month: weekly Search versus monthly Steam, then a close date that is not shared. get_time_series for Elden Ring on source google search returned 261 weekly points from 2021-10-16 (value 0, volume 0) through 2026-10-10 (value 4, volume 1142857). Peak 100 sat on 2022-03-05 at volume 28571429. The series field is source google search. Growth metadata printed total_data_points 261.

get_time_series for Elden Ring on source steam returned 55 monthly points from 2022-03-01 (value 100.0, volume 952523) through 2026-09-01 (value 2.2, volume 54228). Peak 100.0 sat on the first month, 2022-03-01. The series field is datatype steam, not source. REST and MCP both printed datatype. Growth metadata printed total_data_points 55. Steam has no October 2026 close yet. Search already does.

Steam 7D failed. The row printed collapsed_range and Recent and baseline resolved to the same data point; not enough history for this preset. 1W and 14D failed the same way. 1M matched 30D: 2.2 from 1.8, plus 22.22 percent, recent_date 2026-09-01, baseline 2026-08-01, volume_growth plus 3.52 percent from 52385.0. Google Search 7D was flat at 4.0 from 4.0, recent_date 2026-10-10, baseline 2026-10-03. Search 30D was minus 20.0 percent from 5.0. Search YTD was minus 33.33 percent from 6.0 on 2026-01-03. Steam YTD was minus 31.25 percent from 3.2 on 2026-01-01, with volume_growth minus 4.68 percent from 56891.0. Omitting percent_growth defaults to 12M on both and succeeded on both.

CS2 and Counter-Strike 2 are the same Steam series: 171 monthly points, close 72.1, 12M minus 12.92 percent. They are not the same Google Search series. CS2 closed 52.0 and was flat over 12M. Counter-Strike 2 closed 18.0 and fell 60.0 percent from 45.0. Palworld flipped YTD sign: Search minus 20.0 percent from 5.0, Steam plus 120.0 percent from 2.5 (player volume plus 119.8 percent from 76518.0 to 168183.0). Quote both closes. Do not rescale one index onto the other.

Steam can print index 0.0 while players remain. Elden Ring on 2025-10-01 printed value 0.0 and volume 34896. A zero index is not an empty server. Read volume before treating 0.0 as missing data.

Source names case-fold. Steam on get_growth for Elden Ring returned the same 12M row as the lowercase label. Feed labels do not belong here. Source Steam Most Played returned HTTP 400 invalid_source, message 'steam most played' is not a valid source., and listed 16 keyword sources plus all. Source Google Trends did the same, echoed as 'google trends'. The handler lowercased the rejected type string. It did not map it to source steam or source google search.

Comma growth mixes Search estimates with Steam player counts

Google Search Elden Ring printed estimated volume. Steam Elden Ring printed independent player counts. A comma call still mixes them.

{"mode": "get_growth", "source": "google search, steam", "keyword": "Elden Ring", "percent_growth": ["7D", "30D", "12M", "YTD"]}

That comma call on October 12, 2026 returned sources_successful 2. trend_analysis printed uptrend_count 1, flat_count 1, and uptrend_ratio 1/2. Steam 7D collapsed, so the mixer took Steam 30D as the first surviving Steam window (index plus 22.22 percent, volume_growth plus 3.52). Google Search 7D was flat at 0.0 percent. The 1/2 tally used those first windows. Search 12M plus 33.33 percent never entered that ratio as a second vote. Steam 12M plus 450.0 percent never entered either.

volume_weighted_growth was 0.16 with has_volume_data true, sources_with_volume 2, weight_coverage 2/2 sources, and total_volume 1194228.0. Steam contributed 54228.0 (4.54 percent of the mix) at growth 3.52, weighted contribution 0.1598. Google Search contributed 1140000.0 (95.46 percent) at growth 0.0. The 3.52 is Steam volume_growth, an independent player-count change. The 0.0 is Search index growth. Search volume_growth was null, with the reason that volume is derived from the trend value. The mixer still treated 1.14 million estimated Search units as 95 percent of a player-count denominator.

get_time_series rejects the comma. Source google search, steam returned HTTP 400 invalid_source and listed 16 keyword sources with no all. One source per series call. Two sources belong on get-growth.

Steam volume is independent; Search volume is derived

Steam growth rows printed volume_available true and a real volume_growth. Elden Ring 30D index plus 22.22 percent sat next to player-count plus 3.52 percent (54228.0 from 52385.0). 12M index plus 450.0 percent sat next to player-count plus 34.44 percent (54228.0 from 40335.0). Those two percents are not interchangeable. The 0-100 column is a normalized index. The volume column is concurrent players.

Google Search volume is estimated when present. Elden Ring printed volume_available true, volume_estimated true, recent_volume 1140000.0, and volume_growth null. The series integer on 2026-10-10 was 1142857. CS2, Counter-Strike 2, Baldur's Gate 3, and Palworld printed no volume keys on Search growth in this pull. Presence of a volume key on one Search keyword does not promise it on the next.

Keyword format is the other split. Source google search accepts an ordinary phrase. Source steam is documented as a game display name, first Steam store search result, not an App ID. Live traffic did not enforce that last clause. Keyword 1245620 on source steam returned the Elden Ring 12M row: 2.2 from 0.4, plus 450.0 percent, recent_volume 54228.0, total_data_points 55. Keyword elden ring (lowercase) matched that row. Keyword CS2 matched keyword Counter-Strike 2 on Steam (171 points, 72.1, minus 12.92 percent) and did not match it on Google Search. Prefer the display name in stored configs. Confirm the series length before assuming two labels hit the same game.

The 0-100 columns are independent indexes. Elden Ring Search close 4.0 is not 4 percent of Steam close 2.2. Steam 12M plus 450.0 percent from 0.4 is a jump off a small baseline, not a 4.5x rise in Search demand. Search 12M on that name was plus 33.33 percent from 3.0. Quote both closes. Do not add the percents.

Call source steam without pasting Steam Most Played as a type

Two strings, two tools. REST uses mode get_growth or get_top_trends. MCP uses the matching tool names. Google Search history lives on the Google search data page. Live Steam chart follow-up lives on source steam vs type Steam Most Played. Monthly player history also sits on Steam trends.

{"mode": "get_growth", "source": "google search, steam", "keyword": "Elden Ring", "percent_growth": ["30D", "12M"]}
{"mode": "get_time_series", "source": "google search", "keyword": "Elden Ring"}
{"mode": "get_time_series", "source": "steam", "keyword": "Elden Ring"}
{"mode": "get_top_trends", "type": "Google Trends"}
{"mode": "get_top_trends", "type": "Steam Most Played"}

The MCP equivalents are get_growth(keyword="Elden Ring", source="google search, steam", percent_growth=["30D", "12M"]), get_time_series(keyword="Elden Ring", source="google search"), get_time_series(keyword="Elden Ring", source="steam"), get_top_trends(type="Google Trends"), and get_top_trends(type="Steam Most Played"). REST 1M matched 30D on Steam. REST 1W and 14D collapsed like 7D.

Omitting limit is not required to learn the stamp. Type Google Trends with limit 1 returned as_of_ts 2026-10-12T06:01:31.847503+00:00, rank 1 hurricane isaias. Type Steam Most Played with limit 1 returned the same stamp, rank 1 Counter-Strike 2. Rank is live chart order, not a sort of the 2026-09-01 Steam index. Rank 1 on the board is the display name Counter-Strike 2. Keyword CS2 still resolved to that same 171-point Steam series.

REST type google search (the keyword source string, lowercase) returned HTTP 200, echoed type Google Trends, and matched hurricane isaias at rank 1. REST type steam and type Steam returned HTTP 400, error invalid_request, message Unknown type 'steam' (or 'Steam'), plus 24 valid feed labels. REST type youtube returned the same 400 shape. type youtube trending aliased to YouTube Trending. llms.txt still describes feed labels as case-sensitive. The live handler accepted some lowercase aliases on October 12, 2026 and rejected others. Prefer the canonical spelling in stored configs. Do not pass source steam as a feed type.

REST omitting type is a different 400. POST https://api.trendsmcp.ai/api with mode get_top_trends and no type returned HTTP 200 with envelope statusCode 400, error invalid_request, message The 'type' parameter is required, then the same 24-name list. llms.txt still names that miss missing_parameter. Read statusCode inside the JSON, not only the HTTP line.

get_top_trends MCP pricing is 1 credit per 10 requested rows, max 10 credits per call. REST counts 1 request per call. get_growth bills one request per source plus keyword, with extra percent_growth windows included, so a two-source comma string is two units. get_time_series bills one request per source plus keyword. Keyword follow-up stays on source google search or source steam. The live boards stay on their type strings.