On September 27th 2023 the long-awaited full release of Counter-Strike 2 came to fruition. Now, after nearly two months of the game’s full version being publicly available, we will take a look at how the CS2 player count has developed throughout its life cycle thus far.
Not Living Up to the Hype?
The first few days that followed CS2’s full release saw a small increase in player count, peaking at almost 1.5 million peak players during that time.
However, after the initial hype had worn off, the game’s player count went back down and stabilized, while CS2 betting opportunities grew more popular.
Here’s a closer look at the statistics provided by Steam Charts for the past two months:
| CS2 Steam Charts Statistics | Average Players | % Gain | Peak Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2023 | 976,138 | N/A | 1,556,326 |
| October 2023 | 792,125 | -18.85 | 1,364,902 |
| November 2023 | 738.823 | - 6.73 | 1,225,788 |
In late October, the CS2 player count dipped below 1.1 million concurrent players for the first time, since its release.
The game’s player count continued to steadily decline over the next couple of weeks, even dropping below 1 million concurrent players on November 13th 2023 – the lowest number of concurrent players since July 2022 for Counter-Strike.
Leading up to the release of CS2, the monthly peak concurrent player count of CS:GO, the predecessor title, was as follows according to Statista
- June 2023 – 1,655,870
- July 2023 – 1,222,910
- August 2023 – 1,369,510
- September 2023 – 1,556,330
Cause of Downtrend
You may be wondering, why the newest title in one of the most beloved FPS franchises of all time is losing popularity.
Well, there are a couple reasons, which could explain the growing lack of interest in the game and CS2 tournaments among Counter-Strike fans:
- CS2 Not Polished – Understandably, many people expected the full version of CS2 to be bug-free and that all the issues present in the Beta will disappear after the game’s full release. Unfortunately for all parties involved, CS2’s full version is far from perfect and leaves a lot to be desired, when compared to its predecessor, CS:GO. However, Valve are listening to feedback from the community and they are doing everything in their power to improve the state of the game.
- Cheating in Premier – Professional players and casuals alike have been very vocal about the abnormal number of cheaters in CS2 Premier. Playing against cheaters is one of the most annoying and unbearable aspects of multiplayer gaming, which explains the Counter-Strike community’s outrage. Reducing the number of cheaters as much as possible should be Valve’s main priority, if they don’t want the CS2 player count to decrease even further.
- Lack of Gamemodes – Although most Counter-Strike players’ primary focus is competitive 5v5 matchmaking, the absence of other popular game modes is very apparent. Danger Zone, Wingman, Flying Scoutsman, Arms Race and other classic game modes are all missing in CS2. Bringing at least some of the fan favourites back should satisfy the casual player base.
Outside of those in-game factors, the player count is expected to decline slightly after the release. Naturally, the release attracts new players, and the general hype and viewership spikes allows for spectacular player counts.
In the long-term, we expect, CS2 player counts to maintain similar statistics which CSGO.
Image Credits: Valve
