The prospect of Counter-Strike 2 (opens in new tab) has lots of people taking part in CS:GO (opens in new tab), with a brand new all-time peak participant document of 1,519,457 being set at present. That is a quantity reported by each SteamDB (opens in new tab) and Steamcharts (opens in new tab), and it is wildly increased than CS:GO’s prior excessive water marks. CS:GO’s earlier excessive level was in April 2020, when pandemic lockdowns the world over noticed many video games—and Steam itself—report document participant numbers.
That is as a result of Counter-Strike 2 was introduced this week. It is an actual sport, it is free, and every thing in it carries over (opens in new tab) from Counter-Strike: World Offensive. Everybody’s fancy skins are going to Supply Engine 2 land. Sure, even that one particular person’s $150,000 gun pores and skin (opens in new tab). It has despatched the CS pores and skin market straight to crazytown (opens in new tab).
In the present day’s document beats the prior depend by over 200,000 gamers. The explanation? Nicely, widespread concept says that it is as a result of Counter-Strike 2 beta entry is barely going to individuals who play a variety of Counter-Strike. (And no cheaters or jerks are getting in (opens in new tab), which is hysterical.) That, or it is simply a variety of former or lapsed gamers getting nostalgic about Counter-Strike and desirous to expertise it at its peak earlier than CS2 hits and steals away the participant depend.
Counter-Strike: World Offensive has been on the rise since launch, not often falling over the course of a single 12 months exterior of an prolonged nadir in 2018. Even that low level, nevertheless, was nonetheless netting over 400,000 day by day gamers. Late 2018 noticed the discharge of the free model of CS:GO, and the typical year-over-year has stabilized at one thing like 1,000,000 gamers since.
The response to Counter-Strike 2 has been just about what you’d anticipate from a formidable, interesting-looking replace to a staple shooter for each informal and esports gamers: Virtually universally constructive (opens in new tab). Resident Counter-Strike head Wealthy Stanton mentioned that Valve might effectively have created his dream sport, dumping a laundry record of enhancements (opens in new tab) he’d observed onto the positioning.
Oh, and for these of you apprehensive that CS2 will steal all of the CS:GO gamers away? Most likely not. Folks nonetheless play CS 1.6, in any case.
