Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) has been the benchmark in the world of competitive gaming for over 10 years. It alone brings together millions of players who compete in eSports tournaments. However, since September 2023, its sequel, Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) has been released and is trying to find a place in the hearts of fans. In the lines to follow, we will try to find out if the competitions relating to this new version of the game can compete with other eSport giants?
The legacy of CS:GO in eSports
Thanks to the creativity of bookmakers and the emergence of eSport sports betting which bring together millions of online bettors, the Counter-Strike franchise has experienced remarkable expansion. It is indeed a series of multiplayer first-person shooter games in which teams compete against each other over several rounds. It brings together several opuses, but Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is the most popular.
Launched in 2012, CS:GO has become over the years one of the most popular electronic sports games in the world. He contributed to the growth of eSports and its recognition by the general public. Also, being one of the oldest and most successful eSports titles, it has a dedicated fan base that has remained loyal to it despite the advent of other games.
Furthermore, thanks to the success of the various tournaments organized around the game, the eSports industry has been completely shaped so that some operators have been inspired to set up other video game tournaments. As a result, having replaced the CS:GO since September 27, 2023 following an update, Counter-Strike 2 will be able to inherit the longevity of the original game, its exciting gameplay and its accessibility on various terminals (Windows and linux). It will also be able to benefit from its contribution to the evolution of the diffusion of eSports on an international scale.
CS2: What does it actually offer?
CS:GO fans have been very excited to see their beloved game reworked on the Source 2 engine. It is therefore not surprising that in its first hours of release, Counter-Strike 2 has unleashed passions in all countries. Constituting a mixture of CS:GO and the new features offered by the new engine, it brings new life to the entertainment and raises the level of gameplay.
The developer Valve really pulled out all the stops to ensure the final product was spectacular. Compared to CS:GO, CS2 offers improved visual effects, new game mechanics and more interesting performances. It is therefore clear that this new version marks the beginning of a new perspective when it comes to the Counter-Strike franchise.
What is the weight of CS2 competitions compared to other major eSports tournaments?
Benefiting from the influence of its predecessor, CS2 has already been breaking all records since November 2023. On Steam, for example, it has daily attendance of more than 778 players. In April 000, however, it saw a record number of 2023 concurrent players while it only existed in beta.
This allowed it, for example, to outperform Dota 2 which had 432 simultaneous users in the same period on Steam. But, the first CS800 tournaments have been played since the end of 2 and teams still have to adapt to the lot of changes that the game brings. This could upset the established global hierarchy.
Additionally, the teams, players, events and organizers of these competitions could get more investment. These are all elements which show that it is only a matter of time for CS2 competitions to rival, or even surpass, other tournaments.