Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), released in 2012 as the fourth installment in the Counter-Strike franchise, has become one of the most successful video games in history. Millions of players around the world enjoy this first-person shooter (FPS).
If you’re wondering why you’ve come to the right place. We’ll go through all of the factors that contribute to CS:GO’s popularity. But first, let us show you some statistics that demonstrate how popular this game is.
Stats That Show the Magnitude of CS: GO Popularity
(CS:GO) has 1.12 million peak concurrent gamers on Steam in November 2022. Previously, the game had a large following on Twitch and other streaming sites, particularly during the ESL Pro League (March-October).
If you’re unfamiliar with this eSports competition, it’s the main Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event, with 24 teams from around the world competing for the title. The competition was won by France’s Team Vitality last year, and the following season is set to begin on February 21, 2023
Along with many other tournaments – BLAST Premier, Intel Extreme Masters, PGL Major tournaments, and so on – the ESL Pro League events helped significantly expand CS:GO viewership on Twitch in 2022.
As a result, in 2022, over 666,000 hours of CS:GO were streamed, with millions of users tuning in to watch the virtual combat.
Players Love the (Relatively) Simple Gameplay of CS:GO
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) owes its popularity to the high level of realism of its graphics, as well as to a challenging, tactical gameplay experience.
The game is set in a military counter-terrorism scenario and requires players to work together as a team to complete objectives, such as planting or defusing a bomb or rescuing hostages. In simple terms, you gotta kill your opponents in order to win.
The game also features a wide variety of weapons and equipment, ranging from handguns to snipers. Each weapon has its own characteristics – power, precision, magazine capacity, and so on.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive also has an elaborate ranking system that allows players to track their progress and compete against others. This way, expert CS:GO can play against players of a similar ability, rather than facing newcomers a.k.a. noobs in the virtual arena.
CS:GO Works Fine on a Wide Range of Platforms
According to Can You RUN It , you need at least an Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6600 CPU to run CS:GO, along with 2 GB RAM, and a GPU with at least 256 MB. PCs with these sorts of specs have been around for more than 15 years. Apart from running on desktop computers, this game also works fine on MacBooks, as well as on PlayStation (starting with PS 3), and Xbox 360.
What this basically means is that there are hundreds of millions of people out in the world who own devices that can run this game. Practically anyone can play this game, but not everyone can play it well. That’s why many of those who excel in CS:GO have decided to become pro eSports athletes, which is turning into a very profitable occupation.
CS:GO Players are Making a Lot of Money in eSports Tournaments
One final reason why CS:GO is turning into one of the most popular video games of all time is that it’s great for eSports. People love to watch CS:GO eSports tournaments on Twitch and other streaming platforms, but also to take part in them. One of the main selling points of those events is that they come with prize pools measured in millions of dollars. The world’s most successful Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player – Peter “Dupreeh” Rasmussen has earned a total of $1,186,573.20. It’s no surprise that millions of other gamers would love to follow in his footsteps.
Other CS:GO players aren’t far behind Dupreeh, with more than 20 other players earning more than a million dollars in their careers. Denmark has the most earnings per country, followed by American CS:GO players and those living in Russia. The vast majority of the most successful CS:GO eSports athletes are men, although this game is also popular among women. Benita “bENITA” Novshadian, for example, is one of the most successful female CS:GO gamers, having earned approximately $100,000 from the game before joining Vallorant.
With all of these things in mind, it’s no surprise that an increasing number of gamers are considering a career in CS:GO eSports. Having said that, the popularity of this game is certain to skyrocket over the next few years.
