Valve’s tactical shooter Counter-Strike 2 regularly tops the list of the most played games on Steam. However, a team believes that more women would play the shooter if they were represented in the standard skins and has approached Valve.
What is the accusation? In Counter-Strike 2, the standard skins available to all players are all male. Those who want to play as a woman must pay extra. This encourages sexism and discourages more women from playing the Steam shooter, according to the accusations from the Danish women’s team Astralis.
Female players say they do not feel welcome in CS2
What exactly is the criticism? Counter-Strike player Josefine Jensen published an open letter to Valve on February 28, 2024, on her X/Twitter account. In it, the team complains that skins for female agents must be purchased while the standard skins are all male.
In the letter, the women express how much Counter-Strike means to them. The game is an important part of their lives. However, they feel like “guests.” The lack of free female skins feels unfair, and they do not feel welcome.
The absence of female standard skins promotes the sexism they are already exposed to, say the players. You can find the original post in English here:
What change do the players demand? The team demands that there should be as many free female agents as male ones from Valve. “Let’s take this crucial step towards diversity and inclusivity together,” calls Astralis.
The last sentence of the letter can be understood as either “Let’s free the female agents” or in the sense of “Let’s make the female agents free.” The letter is signed by the members of the Astralis women’s team for Counter-Strike.
Mixed opinions on social media
How is it being discussed? The letter from Astralis received a rather mixed reaction on social media. Twitch streamer and professional commentator Asmongold stated that it makes sense to provide as many female agents as possible. However, he does not believe that this change would attract more women to the game.
Counter-Strike player dona, on the other hand, expressed less conviction about her teammates’ demand: “I couldn’t care less about female standard skins,” she wrote on X/Twitter. Instead, she believes Valve should address other issues in the game and develop a proper anti-cheat system to attract new players.
Furthermore, dona points out that toxic and sexist behavior from other players is the main reason many women do not play Counter-Strike. She demands that Valve implement a live support system that players can turn to when they experience such behavior.
Many users in the comments are positively or at least neutrally inclined towards the idea: the change would be easy to implement and would have no downsides, so why not? X would hardly be X if there weren’t also numerous comments ridiculing the demand or personally attacking the players.
It remains to be seen whether Valve will respond to the players’ demands. A previous contact attempt by Astralis seems to have gone unanswered.
We have asked Valve for a statement and will add it here as soon as we receive it.
