The number of CSGO players in 2020 shows that the game is more popular than ever

At this time in 2019, CSGO is full of comments saying the game is dead or dead. Now, looking at CS player numbers in 2020, we can confidently say that things have changed.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is now bigger than ever, and the player base speaks for itself. On March 15, CSGO hit one million concurrent players in the more than eight years since the game’s release in 2012. This is a great achievement for a game that’s been around for almost a decade. Just over a month later, CSGO continues to create a record of being Steam’s second most continuously played game of all time, surpassing the record of its Dota 2 brother, set back in 2016.

But if CSGO is so popular, why do some players still say the game is dying?

CSGO player count is still high, even though Valorant is present

CSGO has hit new highs this year, setting all-time player records and taking down every opponent in the first-person shooter arena. Everything changed when Riot Games’ Valorant appeared. After 9 months of growth, CSGO is now seeing a drop in player numbers when Valorant went live in early June.

Valorant’s release causes CSGO players to drop

Unfortunately for CS fans, the arrival of Valorant has had a significant impact on CSGO player numbers. Since the game’s launch, Valorant seems to have stolen about 500,000 active players from CSGO, but we don’t know if they will return to CSGO later on. CSGO often sees its player base drop every time the big games come out, so it might just be a matter of time before they return. However, CSGO’s average number of 800,000 is not small, and the number of current players in 2020 is much larger than when CSGO first launched.

More specifically, CSGO was almost a bomb when it was first released.

The rough early years of CSGO

CSGO got off to a rough start. After the success of CS 1.6 and CS: Source, many people realized that CSGO was not fun to play at first. Luckily for current players, Valve has changed the game a lot. After launch, CSGO was adjusted in terms of moves and mechanics. This is where the game begins to revive. But developer Valve has another project that keeps them busy. Valve launched Dota 2 just a year after Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Valve prioritizes Dota 2 over CSGO

For a long time, the developer Valve seemed to ignore the child Counter-Strike to take care of Dota 2. With the Dota 2 esports market growing, and the huge amount of bonuses thanks to players buying from battle passes and numbers. With the amount of decorative items available on the Steam Marketplace, Dota 2 has made Valve one of the richest software companies in video game history.

This is completely understandable. While CSGO only has a certain number of weapons, Dota 2 has more than hundreds of heroes, and each hero has a wide selection of skins. In other words, Dota 2 generates more money for Valve, which is why the company focuses resources on this game.

However, everything changed when esports became more popular. Dota 2 can be a confusing game to play, especially if you’re new to the MOBA genre. Creeps, towers, and thousands of skills, combo items, games are difficult for players to get used to as well as for new viewers to understand what’s going on.

Counter-Strike is basically very easy to understand. Finish all players on the opponent’s side and win. Die, and you lose. CSGO is easy to understand but hard to grasp the game’s concepts make it one of the most popular games in the world. And a big part of CSGO’s success comes from esports tournaments.

CSGO Major and operations increase CSGO players

CSGO’s climb to the top began in 2016 with the MLG Columbus Major. The event saw the revival of North American CS teams, such as Team Liquid and Cloud9, both creating a big buzz. North America made it to the Major finals for the first time when Team Liquid met SK Gaming in the ESL One Cologne Finals. The success of CS esports in North America helped the entire colony know more about the game, increasing its player base and following.

The StarLadder Berlin Major saw record viewership for a Major ever and drew more mainstream viewers to esports. Suddenly, esports became the new mainstream culture. While Valve has never released a battle pass for CSGO like they did with Dota 2, 2019 marks the first time Valve has brought a viewer pass for CSGO’s biggest tournaments. These passes allow players to participate, complete quests and receive decorations from the event. These incentives, combined with Valve updates to the game, not only bring in new players but also help them stay.

The number of CSGO players increased rapidly with Operation Shattered Web

Over the years, Valve launched events in CSGO called Operation. These operations have decorative bonuses and special quests, but require the player to invest a lot of time.

That changed in November 2019, when Valve released Operation Shattered Web, after nearly 2 years of waiting for fans. Shattered Web is different from the Operation that CSGO players know before. Instead of the old rewards journey, Shattered Web operates more like the traditional battle pass of Fortnite or Call of Duty. This time, all players must play in order to receive the bonus. It is in contrast to the old requirements from previous operations: sometimes forced to complete difficult challenges.

In a new way, Valve allows players to buy rewards instantly, something that has never happened in CSGO.

The Shattered Web was the catalyst for the massive growth of players it has today.

In the end, it looks like CSGO will stay put. Although Valorant has robbed some pros and some CSGO gamers, the game still focuses on tactics and shooting skills to attract players, and viewers. In addition, updates like Shattered Web have paved the way for more attractive operations, so Valve can make more money for themselves.

In short, CSGO is not dead, but it is preparing to rise again.

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