Blizzard's Overwatch emerged triumphant in the recently concluded Game Awards 2016. Many were skeptical at first if Overwatch would even rake an award aside from Game of the Year but after the dust settled; it appears that the dark horse has emerged victorious. Today, we're going to talk about the things that Valve's CS:GO should learn from the success of Overwatch and how a 6-month game is already garnering more fans and success than a 4-year-old FPS title.
Communication
One of the recurring problem of CS:GO and its community is the lack of communication between the two parties. If you look into CS:GO' official community page, the first thing you'll notice is the lack of an established communication from the game's developers; which is an utter reciprocal to that of Overwatch' community page. You may think that it's not much of a deal considering that players are buying the game in order to play and not to have a chitchat with the developers but in actuality, developer-player relationship must be optimal in order to create a healthier environment for the game and its community.
Think of it this way, how are you going to address your concern (i.e. bugs, balance changes, hacks, etc.) if the developers are barely communicating with you? If the majority of the community have barely seen let alone talk with the game's developers, how are they supposed to discuss with the updates? Bottom line is, it's imperative for Valve to establish a more refined relationship with its community in order to improve its overall success.
Fixes and Bans
Another problem in CS:GO is the never-ending hackers in the game. But don't get me wrong, Overwatch also has hackers in the game but unlike Valve, Blizzard has been actively banning players that are committing such clandestine methods. Here is an article detailing Valve's lack of communication with its players particularly in solving VAC-proof hacks which led to a user taking the matters into his own hands. This is another problem that arises in conjunction to the communication issues with the company.
Events
Lastly, one of the factors that make Overwatch more engaging is the in-game events such as the Halloween event which was met with acclaim by its community. Although CS:GO and Overwatch have different theme and playstyle, Valve should at least create ways to entice its audience and indulge them on things outside competitive gaming. CS:GO is already saturated with competition and therefore, a simple twist could definitely propel the game a lot further than it once was.
