Why Is CS2/CS:GO Still So Popular?

Many games on the Steam platform are story-based games where players engage in the game for several hours and never touch it again after they’ve completed the narrative. However, Counter-Strike does not work that way.

The game is known for being one of the most competitive games in the industry, providing players with a fun five-versus-five experience. Players look to improve at the game in order to defeat their opponents with ease. This gives players the motivation to keep playing the game over and over again.

Counter-Strike has a fully-functional ranking system that reflects the current skills and capabilities of a player. Players with a competitive drive appreciate the challenge and accomplishment of climbing up the ranks, seeing their efforts pay off with the good news of a rank promotion.

Additionally, players are forced to play with teammates as it is a team-based game. Many enjoy collaborating and solving issues with four other players, combining their efforts and coming up with strategies to win the game. This form of comradery is another reason why the game remains so prevalent today.

As mentioned earlier, Counter-Strike offers a ranking system where the highest skill group is called “The Global Elite.” It takes insurmountable levels of skill and hard work for any player to reach that rank, which is why only less than 1% of players have reached their peak.

Players strive to become the best, and earning the Global Elite title is the best way to start, as it gives the validation to a player for being within the upper echelons of players. Though reaching the highest rank puts you at the peak of the mountain, there is still a sky above: professional players.

Counter-Strike is a competitive game with one of the highest skill ceilings. Just because you’ve spent more than 5,000 hours on the game doesn’t mean you can’t learn something new everyday. Professional players have spent countless hours honing their skills, maintaining unwavering dedication to the game.

Players must spend years playing the game to see results, which keeps them in the game for long periods of time. This is why the player base of Counter-Strike has remained relatively consistent throughout the years.

One of the main reasons for Counter-Strike’s popularity comes from its esports scene, where professional players play under teams and compete against each other in million-dollar tournaments. Fans love seeing the best players work their magic, which is why hundreds of thousands of fans tune in to tournament matches live.

Counter-Strike fans that don’t even play much anymore would still spectate prestigious tournaments such as Valve Majors, the ESL Pro League, and Intel Extreme Masters events. Seeing the very best teams competing against each other for glory provides exceptional entertainment to spectators, making it increasingly exciting to watch.

Many fans also partake in esports betting, where they wager money on their favorite teams to win a series. Though betting is not recommended for everyone, putting something on the line while watching matches gives a massive thrill, making watching professional matches even more exciting.

Throughout the years of professional Counter-Strike, we’ve seen players rising to the top and dominating their opponents, such as Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev and Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut. We’ve also seen dynasties by the prime Astralis roster. However, there are always rising teams who try and claim the top spot, creating incredible narratives and storylines.

Back then, Counter-Strike Global Offensive was a paid game, costing $14.99 for players to purchase. Valve needed funds to continue developing the game, and this price point is pretty reasonable considering players could spend more than a thousand hours playing the game. However, in December 2018, Valve destroyed the paywall and made the game free.

People love free stuff, which is why CSGO’s player count immediately went on an upward trajectory, as people could try such an entertaining game for free. This obviously led to an increase in the player base, and the game was being exposed to a wider audience.

Still, a revenue model still exists for Valve in Counter-Strike, as players must have a Prime Status to play in the game’s ranked modes. One way to get the Prime Status is to directly purchase it from the game, which costs $14.99, the same as CSGO’s initial price.

Nonetheless, players could still enjoy Counter-Strike’s unranked game modes without facing any financial barriers. This was a positive change that benefitted players and Valve, as well.

Continuing where we left off, Counter-Strike has a ton of game modes for players to play. This diversifies the player experience, allowing for serious play or relaxed modes that allows players to lay back and enjoy the game.

The most popular game mode in CSGO is Competitive Mode, where players are placed in a five-versus-five ranked match. Elo points are on the line, as winning or losing will result in players ranking up or down. Since Counter-Strike is so prevalent for its competitive nature, this is the ideal game mode to queue for.

However, if you don’t like teammates yelling at you for every mistake you make, there are numerous unranked game modes such as Casual, Deathmatch, and Arms Race. Casual Mode is recommended for new players, as it provides the Counter-Strike experience in a calmer manner. If you’re looking to train your aim or develop your knowledge of weapons, then Deathmatch and Arms Race is the way to go.

Additionally, there are Community Servers that players can join for free. You can play custom modes such as Surfing, Bunny Hopping, or Retakes.

In Counter-Strike, skins refer to cosmetics that give weapons a unique look. Skins were introduced to the game in 2013, and immediately caught the attention of players, reeling more into the game. Though skins can be found in almost every competitive game today, Counter-Strike was the first game to really make its mark.

Counter-Strike skins are tradable and marketable, meaning players can buy, sell, and exchange their weapon skins for others. There are rare items in the game that are valued in the range of thousands of dollars, some even reaching the five-digit mark!

This sort of market and economy gives Counter-Strike another layer of engagement and interest, as traders are still actively trading their items without even playing the game anymore. Players can personalize their inventories and express themselves with the thousands of available skins in the game.

Counter-Strike skins can also be used for CSGO gambling, which is another popular form of entertainment within the game. Players can deposit their skins to websites and play various gambling game modes to potentially upgrade their skins after winning big.

Valve cares about the players in the Counter-Strike community, and has put in a lot of effort into integrating ideas and designs from the players.

Believe it or not, some of the maps you’re playing in the Active Duty Pool are made by members of the community! Valve has just added their finishing touches to these maps to ensure they are player-ready. Additionally, community members can take their ideas to the Steam Workshop where they can publish maps that can be downloaded for free by anyone.

Maps aren’t the only thing designed by the community, as there are hundreds of released skins that were made by talented artists who are Counter-Strike players. Similar to maps, community members can submit their ideas for weapon skin designs. If Valve sees them fit, they will contact the artist and release the skin in the game. Obviously, they will share a cut of the revenue with the original creator!

This involvement of community members not only makes artists and designers feel valued, but also helps Valve consistently release new content for the player base. It is seriously a win-win situation for all parties involved!

Last but not least, Counter-Strike is not only fun to play, but it is also very fun to watch. Other first-person shooter games or MOBA titles have lots of abilities or spells being thrown around the map. These games require players to have an intermediate understanding of the game to know what’s going on.

Meanwhile, Counter-Strike’s gameplay is extremely straightforward. Anyone who has never touched the game can still watch matches and have a good idea of what’s going on. It’s simply a game of players shooting at each other, and the grenades follow real-life concepts, making it easy to digest.

The objectives of the game are apparent. To win a round, players must either eliminate the enemy team, explode the bomb, or defuse it before it detonates. These mechanics make Counter-Strike very friendly for newbies to watch, and they won’t have to spend hours reading the abilities of characters like other games require.

Players can spectate Counter-Strike matches through the game’s GOTV client, or they can watch content creators playing the game on streaming platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. As covered earlier, professional matches are also highly exhilarating to watch.