The insanely popular shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, also known as CSGO, has shattered player records once more, this time by besting Dota 2’s all-time record for concurrent players. Valve’s beloved bomb-defusal shooter has seen fantastic numbers throughout the last year, and March 2020 saw CSGO with over 1 million concurrent players, a feat never before seen in the game’s lifetime. Even more impressive is the fact that, at the time, CSGO was averaging just over 700k players a day.
CSGO’s rapid player increase comes at an interesting time. The game saw piqued interest after Valve released it’s latest operation, “Shattered Web.” Additionally, as governments urge the global community to stay home amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, more people are staying indoors and taking up gaming as a hobby. As a result, PC gaming giant Steam garnered unprecedented numbers, also setting a new all-time user record.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
Esports consultant Rod “Slasher” Breslau took to Twitter recently, elated at CSGO’s growth. His research shows the legendary FPS has reached an all-time peak of more than 1.3 million concurrent players, a number that surpasses Dota 2’s previous record by almost two hundred thousand players. Furthermore, the statistics show CSGO has more than double the amount of in-game players.
Dota 2 held it’s record (1.2 million users) for four years. While other titles have come close, CSGO is the first game to not just meet but surpass Dota 2’s longstanding achievement, and its flourishing player base contradicts what critics foretold. For years, nay-sayers held staunch to the idea that the CSGO community was nearing its inevitable death. With the release of Valorant’s closed beta, many believed the nail was basically in the coffin. In particular, the perceived similarities between CSGO and Valorant led fans to suggest Riot’s new game would greatly overshadow Valve’s FPS. As more players gain access to Riot’s closed beta, however, they’re realizing that CSGO features unique mechanics that will forever separate the two titles.
Interestingly, it seems as though CSGO is experiencing a perfect storm, as a series of unfortunate events has breathed life into a 20-year-old franchise. The community’s disappointment in the lack of Valorant Twitch drops is driving players to step back into CSGO servers, and Valve developers are handling Counter Strike: Global Offensive updates in smart ways. Shortly after Valorant’s closed beta, a series of CSGO updates rolled out, addressing issues the community had urged the developers to fix. It’s astonishing to see CSGO’s position in gaming remain strong, and only time will tell what new heights it will reach.
Source: Rod “Slasher” Breslau/Twitter
