Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is currently the most successful game on the Steam platform. The shooter, released in 2012, is experiencing something of a second spring.
How many people play CS:GO? On January 7 at 15:00, nearly 556,000 people were playing the shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This is a strong figure and makes the game clearly number 1 on Steam.
On average, 456,701 players played CS:GO in December 2019. This is the best value the game has ever had in its 7 years.
By comparison:
- DOTA 2 had an average of 384,180 players in December.
- PUBG had an average of 308,445 players in December.
- GTA5, Rust, Destiny 2, and Rainbow Six Siege remained under the 100,000 mark during the same period.
The shooter also saw success on other platforms. According to Sullygnome, the average viewership on Twitch increased by about 14.3% compared to the previous year in 2019.
In 2019, an average of 52,436 people watched CS:GO. This was also due to significantly more streamers and more streaming hours that year.
Where does the success come from? Nearly 7 years after release, CS:GO is significantly increasing its player numbers. However, the foundation for this was already laid in 2018 with the change in payment model and is now paying off.
The turning point began in 2018, big jump at the end of 2019
What changed in CS:GO in 2018? In December 2018, CS:GO switched its payment model. While it had to be purchased once before, it switched to Free2Play with this update.
At the same time, the new mode “Danger Zone” was introduced. It is a battle royale for up to 18 players. It is also described in current reviews as a fun diversion.
This update resulted in player numbers going up slightly in December compared to the previous months. In the following months, the numbers stabilized between 360,000 and 390,000 players.
What happened in CS:GO in 2019? The past year actually had little new:
- On June 18, Valve celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Counter-Strike series and brought a retro version of Dust 2 into the game.
- In November, a larger update called Operation Shattered Web was released, which introduced the first battle pass, new missions, crates, and maps.
- Moreover, in 2019, there was a more active approach against cheaters and toxic players. As we reported in October, an AI is taking care of insults and penalties for it.
But these changes seem to be enough to draw people’s attention back to CS:GO.
Notably, there were many reviews that CS:GO received in November 2019. To succeed, one had to give the game a rating. Many did so as well, with 214,000 people giving a positive and 25,000 a negative rating.
Praise for gameplay, criticism for cheaters and flamers
What do players praise and criticize? The positive reviews refer to CS:GO as one of the best shooters ever. The following aspects are particularly praised:
- The tactical aspects of the shooter
- The focus on personal skill, which is said to make CS:GO superior to Battlefield or CoD.
- The realism.
- The nostalgia, as many grew up with the Counter-Strike series.
However, newer reviews also criticize:
- The many Russian players
- Flamers
- Cheaters
- The switch to Free2Play, which allows flamers and cheaters to create new accounts again and again.
What’s next for CS:GO? No major updates for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive have been announced for 2020 so far.
However, shooter fans can look forward to many major tournaments again. The first of these will take place in May in Rio de Janeiro. If you want to get in the mood, you can find here the “best play of the decade” chosen by the fans.
