With a new record of 1.5 million concurrent PC players, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) has once again set the bar high. The game now holds the second-highest number of concurrent players in Steam‘s history. However, it still has some way to go to catch up with PUBG Battlegrounds, which holds the top spot with a record of 3.2 million concurrent players.
Despite being a decade-old shooter game, CS:GO has proven its enduring popularity. This game has been around for over 20 years in various forms, and only recently set a new record by reaching a peak of 1.32 million players last month. A few weeks later, it broke the 1.4 million mark. Before this new record, the game’s concurrent user record was reportedly 1.3 million players, set three years ago during a time when many people were unexpectedly staying indoors.
Rumours of a new game, Counter-Strike 2, had been circulating for some time, with leaks and trademark filings. However, it has now been officially announced that the game will launch in the summer of 2023 as a free upgrade to CS:GO. It will run on Valve’s Source 2 engine, which the company promises will bring about the “largest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike’s history”. This announcement marks a new era for the game, which has shown that it still has a strong following even after all these years.
