CS:GO Could Break 2 Million Concurrent Players
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the OG shooter from over a decade past, has broken its player count record. Again.
Despite the game's age, 2023 is actually one of CS:GO’s biggest years yet, over 10 years after release.
On May 6, CS:GO reached an astonishing 1.82 million concurrent players. This is an increase of 300,000 players from the day before, which was the usual 1.5 million. Where did these players come from?
This impressive number was hit just hours before the BLAST Paris Major. This makes a bit of sense since players are hyped about the return of the Major in general. Valve has even incentivized players by offering a viewer pass and sticker capsules, rewarding people for logging into the game during this time.
Unlike previous years, Valve seemed to wait until last minute to reveal the skin capsule information. This left many pro players and casuals alike on the edge of their gaming chairs. It comes as no surprise that players rushed into the game to get the skins once they were finally confirmed.
But the Major boost is far from an outlier. This entire year, the classic shooter has had around 1.5 million concurrent players a month despite being over a decade old, according to Steam Charts.
This is likely because Valve announced the long-awaited follow-up to CS:GO. Counter-Strike 2 was announced in March of this year, creating an instant boost of excitement and an increase in the playerbase.
The improved version of CS:GO is not a totally new game. Instead, Valve has called it a “free upgrade.” First, Counter-Strike 2 will have sub-tick updates, which basically means that every action on the server is registered a lot faster, making the movement and shooting a lot more instant.
The visuals are another huge improvement. The game will essentially get a facelift after over a decade. There are also new smoke mechanics, better audio design, water physics, and map reworks.
Valve is essentially taking advantage of the new engine while keeping the core mechanics and gameplay the same. Don’t expect any VALORANT ultimates or anything. CS:GO’s classic and straightforward mechanical gameplay is what helped the game remain popular even as VALORANT flourishes as an esport.
