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CS:GO is one of the longest-living esports games, with a massive following and incredibly prestigious esports tournaments. Hundreds of thousands of players play the title daily, which shows CS:GO’s stability in the gaming world. In this article, we’ll explore the history of the game and certain changes that improved it over the years.
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Launched in 2012 by Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment, the premise of the title is exactly the same as in all prior Counter-Strike games – that is, terrorists need to either kill all opposing players or successfully detonate the bomb, and vice versa.
Initially, the game had to be purchased through Steam in order to play. However, the price wasn’t high ($15/15€) so there was no outrage from the community as is the case with some AAA titles.
Besides, the player base welcomed the new addition to the series with open arms because Counter-Strike: Source wasn’t quite as good as CS1.6.
Though the game went through numerous changes over the years, there weren’t any major changes to the core gameplay as the developers kept true to what Counter-Strike represented. This is why it is still alive and kicking, even today – the gameplay is simple enough to attract new players regularly and rewarding enough to keep older ones.
Valve consistently releases updates that further polish and balance the game. They also release large content updates known as ‘operations’, but more on that later.
At the time of writing, the game has celebrated its 10th anniversary, which is a huge undertaking in and of itself; only the best games have a lifespan that’s longer than a decade and it’s evident that CS:GO is one of them.
So, after all this time and players from all kinds of esports countries playing the game, what major changes did it experience and how were they received by the community?
CS:GO’s existence can technically be divided into a couple of periods that were defined by a single large update. These updates also contain small improvements and bug fixes but are generally made to expand the game with new additions, whether they’re new maps, weapons, skins, or mechanics. Let's take a look at the biggest ones.
This was one of the first larger updates that the game has received over the years. The Arms Deal update introduced new cosmetic weapons finishes – or skins as we know them today. In essence, this update also kickstarted CS:GO skin betting, which is a lucrative opportunity for bettors that wish to wager their skins.
It also enabled community creators to make money from their skins. If a weapon skin was added to a weapon case, that creator would receive a small profit from the sales. All of this contributed to the creation of CS:GO’s virtual economy – and subsequently brought more players into the game than ever before. Most of the game's fans will tell you that this was the most important update in the game’s history.
Soon after this update, Valve would launch their first ‘operation’ – an ‘expansion pass’ that enables players access to locked, limited-time content in the form of maps, game modes, weapon cases, and more.
The Music Kit update introduced music kits; a form of personalised content that players could activate for their accounts. If the player wins MVP (Most Valuable Player) after a round, their music will play instead of the default one!
Although this is mainly a gimmick, it also strengthened CS:GO’s economy since music kits could be borrowed and sold on the Steam Community Market (the same place you’d buy skins from).
2016 was a pretty strong year when it came to CS:GO updates. This particular update contained two reworked maps (Nuke and Inferno), Prime matchmaking, and more.
Prime matchmaking simply involved pairing you up with players who have connected a verified phone number to their accounts (you’d have done the same at this point) to prevent smurfing and cheating. In essence, this was created to protect players and give them fair matchups.
Near the end of the year, a smaller update was released that would introduce graffiti – a mechanic that replaced ‘sprays’. Graffiti could also be purchased on the market as well as other means. Lastly, glove skins were released at the end of this year.
Even though this wasn’t one singular update, so many things were added or changed that it’s basically classified as one large update for 2016.
The Trust Factor update brought a new system to the table. A player’s ‘trust factor’ was now being calculated using certain metrics such as in-game and Steam-wide actions. Some of these include the number of reports made against the player, playtime, and other hidden metrics.
Arguably the biggest talking point of gaming in 2018, Valve decided to make it a completely free-to-play game. This major decision was originally received negatively by the community, but players soon realised that those who bought the game would receive certain benefits.
For instance, they were automatically upgraded to Prime status and given the ability to receive drops in the form of cosmetic items. This update also introduced a new Battle Royale game mode called Danger Zone.
2019 marked the first year where Valve decided to somewhat streamline the operation system and releases, and from then onward, each year would have one operation released for it. These newer operations also contained more item variety as well as plenty of additional features.
Most of the removed CS:GO maps were originally released within a specific operation release – they aren’t part of the core/major maps. In most cases, operation maps are time-limited and usually stay live for about half a year. Here are all the old CS:GO maps (there are 28 of them):
The CS:GO menu has changed over the years, mainly to improve the user experience and overall aesthetics. Overall, the menu nowadays has better visibility and a streamlined design that accompanies the graphical innovations that time brings.
Let's look into what some previous versions looked like compared to the current one.
Certain weapons (mentioned below) that were present in previous games are not available in CS:GO due to various reasons.
Almost all the weapons that were present in previous Counter-Strike games exist in CS:GO as well, but there are also numerous weapons that are only available in the latter. They are:
It must be said that Valve’s dedication to CS:GO and overall relationship towards it should be the industry standard. When you look at the game from a player standpoint, it’s obvious that it hasn’t changed much since its release.
We can see that the game has received many updates throughout its history which didn’t change its fundamentals. Rather, each update is simply meant to improve the game. And although this didn’t always work (e.g. certain weapons being too strong on release), Valve never gave up.
People that have played the game for a long time may tell you that it is broken… that the player experience is worse than before…but in this case, it’s more on the lines of nostalgia rather than the game’s state.
After all, it wouldn’t be one of the biggest esports games in the world if the game was buggy to the point of it being non-viable for esports. If you compare Valve’s push to keep CS:GO at the top with how other, larger companies ‘care’ about their games, it’s clear as daylight that Valve is doing a great job.
The best way to get acquainted with the title or learn more about the esports teams that compete in various CS:GO events is to watch live streams. Alternatively, you could watch VODs if you’ve missed the action.
Considering your Steam account is tied with CS:GO, you’ll be checking this in the ‘Badges’ tab on your profile page.
The oldest account on Steam just got his 16 Years of Service badge ..SIXTEEN YEARS! pic.twitter.com/56XgyHoTcp — ohnePixel (@ohnePixel) September 13, 2019
The oldest account on Steam just got his 16 Years of Service badge
..SIXTEEN YEARS! pic.twitter.com/56XgyHoTcp
— ohnePixel (@ohnePixel) September 13, 2019
All you have to do is hover your mouse cursor over the ‘Years of Service’ badge and it’ll display when your Steam account has been created.
In the end, CS:GO might be an older game but it’s generally considered an evergreen example of how to keep updating and expanding a game properly. New players love it, older players may have some issues with it but even they can’t deny the appeal.
And it’s a highly popular choice among bettors as well, which means it’s pretty easy to understand, even if you’ve never played before. The good news is that there’s still plenty of life in almost-evergreen games such as CS:GO and Dota 2.
CS:GO was released in 2012 and has since reached its 10th anniversary. It’s one of the longest-lasting games in both esports and casual play.
The first Counter-Strike was released in 1999 as a mod for Half-Life. Following the initial success of the game, it was expanded upon and a couple of new releases have been made over the years.
This is a difficult question to answer but if Valve continue to do what they’ve been doing, there’s no doubt the game will have a presence in the gaming world for a long time to come.
No, CS:GO cannot be played on mobile and there’s currently no indication that Valve is going to release a mobile version.
The youngest professional CS:GO player is Ilya Osipov, otherwise known as m0NESY. He is 17 years old and plays for G2 Esports.
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