The hype around CS2 has never been higher. Over two decades after its initial release, Counter-Strike still has gamers coming back to the king of tactical shooters.
Credit: SteamDB
If there was any concern about CS2 dying, those concerns have been quashed recently. With the hype of CS2, the player count has been reaching new heights. The CS2 live stats suggest that it peaked at just over 1.5 million concurrent players, with no signs of slowing. For context, the CS:GO player count peaked at around 1.3 million at the height of the pandemic, when the game last saw a period of sustained growth.
One of the main reasons players come back is Operations. With the release of an Operation, the Counter-Strike player count also sees a huge increase. The last Operation was released in September 2021. With the CS2 live stats showing record numbers of players joining in at the moment, Valve releasing a new Operation could be the catalyst to push those numbers even further. Valve will be aiming to hit that 2 million player milestone at some point in 2023.
The professional CS2 scene also has some stats that may surprise you, many related to substantial prize pools. For example, across 19 CS:GO Majors, the highest prize pool ever stands at $2m. This was for PGL Major Stockholm 2021, a massive increase from $250,000 for the first-ever CS:GO Major.
Away from the Majors, there are still plenty of opportunities for the pros to win big. In 2022, there were thirteen S-tier tournaments, and fourteen upcoming in 2023. Outside of the Majors, the highest-paying CS tournament last year was the BLAST Premier World Final, with a total prize pool of $1m.
Over the years, the best Counter-Strike 2 players have competed for their share of the prize funds, but one has come out on top. This is dupreeh, with $2,028,331 in total winnings over the years. It also means dupreeh has the unique distinction of being the only Counter-Strike player to have cracked over $2m in earnings due to his time in the legendary Astralis roster and a successful period with Vitality.
The only player to break the top five earners not in that Astralis team is s1mple, who sits in fifth with $1,700,388. At the age of just 25, don’t be surprised to see s1mple top this CS stat before the end of his career.
Source: Astralis
That Astralis team are the holders of a remarkable CS:GO stats. To this day, they remain the only Counter-Strike team to win three Majors in a row. They’re also the most-crowned winners of all time, with four Majors total. Only fnatic come close with three.
The Counter-Strike live stats are certainly showing that the game is enjoying a huge resurgence in popularity lately, and it could be down to a few reasons. However, many feel the main contributor is due to CS2. The game is promising to usher in a new era of Counter-Strike for both players and the esports scene alike, and the result is a level of hype never before seen for the franchise. A huge boost is the confirmation that CS2 won’t be shaking up the game in a massive way. When people play Counter-Strike, they like to know exactly what they can expect, and it’s a relief to know CS2 will be continuing that tradition.
Why is CS2 so popular at the moment?
More CS2 players logging on consistently is a great thing for the long-term health of the game. By players showing they’re committed, Valve is able to in turn commit to updating the game more regularly, giving CS2 more content. It’s a self-fulfilling cycle – the more content the game gets, the more players decide to give it a go. And right now, the CS2 live stats don’t lie. The game is only getting more and more popular with players worldwide. Hopefully the content drop with CS2 brings about an incredible boom in players after years of hype.
What does more CS2 players mean for the game long-term?
Of course. Counter-Strike has always been one of the most popular games on PC, but the platform has seen unprecedented growth lately. This means that more gamers are being exposed to the franchise than ever before. Players who previously picked up Call of Duty, will give CS2 a try instead. Plenty never look back.
These numbers come directly from Valve, which as the developer of Steam and Counter-Strike, has all of the information it could possibly need about the size of the player base. These stats have always been accurate over the years. That doesn’t seem set to change any time soon.
How do we know the CS2 live stats are accurate?
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