FPS with One of Biggest Worldwide Audiences Ever, CS: GO, Shuts Down After More Than Decade

It’s a done deal. CS: GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive), which saw the light of the day for the first time in 2012, has come to an end. The renowned first-person shooter (FPS) game, ranked all-time eighth in its genre as per Red Bull, is no longer maintained, as decided by the game developer Valve. A brand-new game named CS2 (Counter-Strike 2) was released instead.

The BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, a suitable location to say goodbye to CS: GO, will now be recorded as a particularly significant event in the eSports realm. The second Major of the year won’t be held any longer and this year’s edition was its last. Instead, Counter-Strike 2 will be used for the next Major, which will take place in March 2024, and on which you will be able to bet at the bookies on the web having deposit bonuses just like you wagered on earlier majors when they were played as CS: GO. Actually, all sportsbooks that had CS: GO in the offers prior to the game’s switch to CS2 will continue having the new game on their lines.

News About CS: GO’s Shutdown Shocks Huge Army of Fans Worldwide

Millions of CS: GO enthusiasts who have grown up with the fourth rendition of the 1999 game Counter-Strike (CS) throughout the world have been astonished and saddened by this news. With a devoted and enthusiastic community of players, streamers, commentators, and spectators, the game has been among the most well-known and most significant eSports franchises for nearly a decade.

Gamers have endless memories of exhilarating competitions, amazing matches, and unforgettable moments thanks to CS: GO. For many fans of the game, it has also generated bonds of friendship, rivalries, teams, and professions. It has been beyond simply a video game. It has been an international phenomenon, a way of life, and a culture. But everything nice has to come to a conclusion.

A new game that will inherit the legacy of CS: GO has been developed by Valve since it has been determined that it was time to pass the torch on. CS2 will be a cutting-edge shooter game with fresh features, modes, maps, weaponry, and gameplay dynamics. According to Valve, CS2 will be the pinnacle of competitive gaming, appealing to both seasoned players and newbies.

What Did CS2 Improve Compared to CS: GO?

It’s projected that CS2 replace the CS: GO Source Engine with the more modern Source 2 Engine. An engine upgrade typically results in major enhancements to a video game. These enhancements can also result in modifications to the gameplay, in addition to visual enhancements.

Compared to CS: GO, here’s what CS2 improved:

Smoke Grenade Mechanics

The smoke grenades in CS2 are one of the largest modifications. According to the creators, the smoke grenades in CS2 are reactive volumetric elements that interact with the surroundings and respond to sunlight, shooting, and explosions. The new smoke screens will provide chances for original plays and pivotal moments.

The following attributes of the new smoke in CS2 are just a few highlights:

• Dynamic LOS: Bullets and grenades can be used to temporarily open up a LOS through a smoke screen by quickly dissipating the haze in the region they are targeted at.
• Expands naturally and engages the landscape: Smoke grenades are more than simply producing a static cloud of smoke; they organically spread out and engage with the surrounding landscape. Additionally, they enter through cracks in doors and windows.
• Responsive to light: The new smoke screens engage with the colors of the surfaces, objects, and lights surrounding them, making the smoke seem and feel more realistic to fight through. They also adapt to the lighting system used in the game.

Brighter and Better-Looking Maps

CS: GO has also made significant upgrades to the maps in CS2. Full Overhaul, Upgrade, and Touchstone categories are used to group the maps.

• Full Overhaul maps: They are entirely redesigned from the ground up, utilizing and showcasing all of the new features and enhancements of the Source 2 Engine.
• Upgrade maps: They are maps that utilize the enhanced lighting system in the Source 2 engine and often appear better than their CS: GO equivalents.
• Touchstone maps: These maps feature better character readings and illumination. In contrast to their CS 1.6 and CS: GO designs, these maps are otherwise unchanged. The creators claim that by using these maps, gamers may experience the gameplay adjustments in CS2 in a more controlled setting.

Server Performance

On game servers, the Source 2 Engine does some magic to enhance performance. The tick rate is no longer calculated by the server as a result. The architecture for sub-tick updates has been enhanced in Counter-Strike 2.

This enables the servers to precisely track player movements, weapon firing, and grenade tosses. Regardless of the tick rate, all game activities will have the same responsiveness.

VFX, UI, and High-Res Models

Naturally, visual advancements result from engine upgrades.

• UI: The game’s graphics, item models, and overall user interface (UI) have all been enhanced by CS2. The UI has undergone a significant redesign and has some opulent animations.
• HS: High-res (HS) models of the characters and weapons have better details and lighting. The comparison in a video by HS Top is a fantastic example of how the game’s visual enhancements have improved.
• VFX: The game also has enhancements to animations, blood-spatter VFX, and muzzle flash in addition to the smoke grenade effects.

Can You Still Play CS: GO Following the Release of CS2?

All Global Offensive gamers had to switch to Counter-Strike 2 because the new game superseded CS: GO in the Steam Library. Following the CS2 launch, you can’t play CS: GO anymore. There’s just no way to run Global Offensive again now that CS2 has totally replaced it in the Steam Library.

Many gamers believed the two games would coexist for some time before Valve gradually phased down Global Offensive since the company hadn’t made it clear in their initial announcement if the game would totally replace Global Offensive at launch. In the end, Valve just chose to switch Global Offensive out for CS2.

However, you may still use CS: GO’s previous version for recreational play. Despite the fact that CS: GO isn’t currently updated and will never be again, it’s possible to play older versions of the game by selecting csgo_demo_viewer – 1.38.7.9 from the dropdown menu next to “Beta“ in the Steam Library’s “Betas“ tab, which can be accessed by right-clicking on “CS2“ and selecting “Properties“ there. You should be able to run a prior variation on the game by following these instructions. But heed our warning: Global Offensive’s earlier iteration may not live up to your expectations. Matchmaking or community servers aren’t available because this is only a demo version. However, until something changes, you should still be able to browse the bot matches.

Final Thoughts

Can CS2 fill the vacuum that CS: GO left behind? Will it have the capacity to replicate the charm and enchantment that has rendered CS: GO so unique? Will it be able to meet the CS: GO community’s high expectations and standards or will it be a letdown that turns off and annoys the fans? Only time will tell.

All we can do for the time being is to just say farewell to CS: GO and thank it for everything it has given us. We can also welcome CS2 to its new journey that has just begun. We can hope that CS2 will honor and preserve the legacy of CS: GO and make gamers proud to be part of this incredible gaming following.

At this very moment, it has been rather easy to switch from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to Counter-Strike 2. The most recent CS release was one of the most popular of the year because of the game’s active community assumed from CS: GO, which also helped it become the Steam FPS with the highest concurrent player count. As of October 3, 2023, Steam Charts reports that CS2 has had an average of 961,452 players each day, which also considers the number of players who took part in the beta, launched this summer. Including beta, the highest number of players in CS2 in the past 30 days was 1,515,966. Additionally, when the game was still in beta, Counter-Strike 2 reached a peak of 1,818,773 concurrent players in April 2023. Since August, the game has consistently had over a million players per day. Due to this, Counter-Strike 2 is the game on Steam with the most active players, surpassing Dota 2.

CS: GO will be missed, while CS2 has big shoes to fill. We’ll have to wait and see what the new game has in its arsenal.