The popular first-person shooter video game CS:GO has maintained its solid player base since it was released more than a decade ago. Although, it achieved its most impressive stat only recently, with more than 1.5 million people playing the game at the same time. The credit for this record-breaking number goes to Counter-Strike 2, as Valve continues to build hype around the upcoming video game sequel.
Counter-Strike 2 Announcement Attracts More Players for CS:GO
As reported by PC Gamer, CS:GO broke the previous record on March 25 for the number of concurrent players in the game. Specifically, CS:GO achieved an all-time high player record of 1,519,457. This number came from both SteamDB and Steamcharts, making it clear that the popularity of the game has reached uncharted territory lately. The previous record of concurrent players was set in April 2020, a period where more people stayed inside their homes to play video games due to COVID-19 lockdowns. During that time, Steam also reported a record-high number of players on their platform.
The all-time high number reached by CS:GO is said to be the impact of the Counter-Strike 2 announcement. There are many possible reasons why more people suddenly decided to open the game, particularly those who quit a long time ago but thought about returning to the game this week. For one, these people likely wanted to experience nostalgia by playing CS:GO, especially now that a new game is about to arrive. Also, people might have checked into the game in hopes that they will be included in the shortlist for the Counter-Strike 2 beta access.
Aside from the number of concurrent players, another metric has also been broken following the announcement of Counter-Strike 2. Steam Charts has reported via Forbes that CS:GO achieved its highest number of concurrent viewers on Twitch for 2023 with 852,100 viewers. While this may not be an all-time high record, this number is still impressive given that Twitch viewers usually peak only during major tournament finals.
CS:GO Players Hoping to be Chosen As Beta Testers for Counter-Strike 2
According to Forbes, a player needs to meet the qualifications to receive an invite into "Counter-Strike 2" beta. First, a player must have spent a lot of hours recently on the official Valve servers. This is thought to be the biggest factor behind the record-breaking number of concurrent players in CS:GO.
Another requirement to qualify for Counter-Strike 2 beta is to have no bad records from playing. Maintaining a good community standing and having no experience getting banned should increase the likelihood to be chosen as a CS2 beta player. Valve has yet to advise on the next batch of players joining the beta team.
As per Dot Esports, CS:GO is likely to maintain its current player base until more people are qualified to join the beta test servers. Although, it is possible that the record of 1.5 million concurrent players set this week will be easily smashed once Counter-Strike finally arrives, with expectations going up to 2 million concurrent players when that happens.
