He Number of CS:GO players broke its peak record, proving there’s still plenty of life in the decade-old FPS game. Released in August 2012, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has steadily held its own as one of the most popular games on Steam ever since, but has recently risen to reassert Valve’s position as a leader in its gaming platform. PC gaming despite competition from major launches. .

There are few names as tied to PC gaming as Counter-Strike. The series was a mainstay of the platform for over 20 years, with the release of Counter-Strike 1.0 in November 2000. This would evolve into CS 1.6 in September 2003, followed a year later by the release of Counter -Strike. Strike: Source, a new version of Valve’s Source engine.

CS:GO marks the latest iteration of the team-based bomb-defusing shooter, which is basically still largely the same game it was at its core all those years ago, albeit with a number of tweaks and improvements over the years. . It looks like those years of refinement have paid off, as the game is more popular than ever, with only PUBG: Battlegrounds and Lost Ark hitting higher numbers.

CS:GO player count reached 1,320,219 concurrent players on February 11, 2023 – breaking its previous all-time high, set in April 2020. This puts it comfortably at the top of the current Steam charts and sits 50% more than Hogwarts Legacy’s player count in second place, though it’s worth noting that the new Harry Potter game is priced at $59.99 USD / £49.99 GBP, while Counter-Strike is free.

Table above provided by SteamDB.

However, before going free in August 2018, CS:GO’s highest record was just over 850,000 users, proving that it’s not just the lack of price that matters. In addition to its simple and polished gameplay that has remained popular in light of direct competitors like Valorant as well as more distinct shooters like Call of Duty and Halo, Valve’s game has also enjoyed a lot of market around gaming. dear ones that are currently for sale on the Steam community market are listed at over $1,900.

If you’re up for a bit of CS:GO, we’ve got some of the best CS:GO tips to help you get better, plus a guide on how best to use CS:GO smokes. We also have all the CS:GO console controls to adjust your settings to your liking. Check out more of the best free PC games if you’re looking for something new to play.

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