Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has already renewed the online record four times in a month - the last peak was 1,355,797 simultaneous players. The game was released over ten years ago and continues to break records, remaining the most popular game on Steam. How is that possible?
The core gameplay of CS:GO is immortal
Let's start with the fact that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a great game. The game's core gameplay is made so that new players can quickly understand the basics, and experienced performers will never reach the ideal.
However, there needs to be more to explain the sharp jumps in online peaks. Good core gameplay rather preserves the overall level of online. Thanks to the excellent design, the game has a permanent base of players, and additional factors are needed for peak online races.
The new case brought back some of the players
The only new content recently brought to the game is the new "Revolution" case. And the new case always brings back a part of the players to the game. Some users are highly interested in skins and opening a new container because it is full-fledged new content for them.
The second part is attracted by the benefit that can be obtained from this case. When a new container is added to the game, its prices on the Marketplace remain high for a long time because you can get it only as a drop after the match. And players come back to get a new case and make money from its sale.
Also, the new case, of course, attracts a huge number of bot accounts. This does not reflect very well on the game but still raises the general online.
The professional season is in full swing
The professional scene is gradually approaching the middle of the first half of the season. IEM Katowice 2023 and the BLAST group have already ended, and ESL Pro League Season 17 is currently underway. And a good professional CS draws attention to the game itself. After watching professional matches, players who have not entered CS:GO for a long time return and rise online.
This effect is especially vivid during the majors because Pickem Challenge and capsules with stickers are also added to the game in addition to the tournament. However, even simple tier-1 tournaments can bring players back.
Professionals began actively playing Anubis
After the IEM Rio Major 2022, Valve added the Anubis card to the competitive map pool. Many players managed to try the new location after the update, but the map only appeared at tournaments for a short time, which stopped the community from playing at this location. After all, you won't be able to see the spread and positions on the new map, and you won't notice interesting moments for pro-matches.
Now, Anubis regularly appears at tier-1 championships, and many players want to try a new map and will play it thoughtfully after watching the matches of the best teams in the world. It also attracts both new and old players.
Balance edits
This is not such an important reason, but it could also have an impact. The fact is that Valve spent the last hour working on the balance of the parties. Reducing the cartridges in the AWP magazine to five, nerfing the M4A1-S, changing the Ancient, and adding Anubis strengthened the T side. According to the latest statistics, the attack and defense on the professional stage were almost equal.
This could also bring back into the game some part of the players who were not very comfortable playing as an attack. It was not so easy to attack before the balance patches.
CS:GO is one of the most popular games in the world right now, and the records set by the project prove that interest is even increasing. Of course, the main reason for the growth of interest is the fact that the core gameplay has passed the test of time, but the popularity is also influenced by a bunch of other factors, including skins and eSports. And CS has these factors, which are constantly developing, making the game eternal.
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