CS:GO smashes all-time player count following Counter-Strike 2 announcement

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has blown past its all-time concurrent player count following the announcement of Counter-Strike 2.

According to independent Steam tracker SteamDB, the game attracted 1,507,212 on March 25, smashing its previous all-time player count by around 100,000 players.

Interest in the game has exploded following the confirmation of Counter Strike 2, the next entry in Vavle’s PC shooter franchise, which looks to launch this summer.

Often Steam’s most played game on a regular week, the increased interest has seen the game reach almost 3x that of the second most played game on the platform, Dota 2, which reached 667,348 players during the same time period.

Counter-Strike 2 will arrive as a free upgrade to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, allowing players to bring across their inventory from the current game.

Counter-Strike 2 is the largest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike’s history, ensuring new features and updates for years to come,” according to Valve.

“All of the game’s new features will be revealed when it officially launches this summer, but the road to Counter-Strike 2 begins today as a Limited Test for select CS:GO players. During this testing period, we’ll be evaluating a subset of features to shake out any issues before the worldwide release.”

Valve said the game will be cleaner, brighter, and better looking. “Maps in Counter-Strike 2 are receiving upgrades and overhauls which leverage all of the new Source 2 tools and rendering features.

“Counter-Strike 2 sounds have been reworked to better reflect the physical environment, be more distinct, and express more game state,” it added. “They have also been rebalanced for a more comfortable listening experience.”

A Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test FAQ is available here.