CS:GO player count: is CS:GO dead in 2022?
Last updated: January 15, 2022
Featured image © CCM
The CS:GO player count 2022 is nothing but astonishing! The multiplayer first-person shooter game will forever be known as one of the most popular games since the dawn of video game development. (If you’re curious, have a look at the latest PUBG player count 2022 - it’s worth it!) Now, how many people play CS:GO in 2022? Many players are asking is CS:GO dead? Today we’ll find out!
20 years ago, one of the most popular games of our time was released. Counter-Strike is still THE top game on Steam in 2022 and it seems that CS:GO fans from all over the world have no plans whatsoever to leave the game behind. If you’re interested in the player count of the most popular video games 2022, check out our Gaming category.
CS:GO player count 2022
If you don’t believe that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the BEST games of all time have a look at the latest CS:GO statistics and you’ll change your mind:
1. In January 2022, between 430,000 and 800,000 people played CS:GO concurrently across all devices.
(Source: Playercounter)
The source website uses an algorithm to determine the live player count of many of the most popular games in 2022. Our team monitored the CS:GO live player count and came up with those numbers. In 2022, the CS:GO player count is between 430,000 and 800,000.
2. In January 2022, CS:GO ranks #1 on Steam.
(Source: Steam Charts)
It’s been almost 20 years since the initial release of the game, but CS:GO is still the #1 favorite video game of Steam users all over the world. Since the release on Steam, people have played around 400 million hours of CS:GO gameplay on Steam, and according to the CS:GO Steam Charts, the game has been #1 for the last couple of years.
3. In January 2022, CS:GO ranks #13 on Twitch.
(Source: Twitch Tracker)
CS:GO ranks in the top 15 Twitch games in 2022. The game is highly competitive, immersive, and addictive, so most of the CS:GO fan base consists of players over viewers. However, there are so many tournaments and popular video game streamers that fans just can’t resist. In January 2022, there was an average of 40,400 CS:GO concurrent viewers on Twitch.
4. In November 2021, gamers watched 80 million hours of CS:GO gameplay on Twitch.
(Source: Statista)
80 million hours was the CS:GO Twitch record since April 2020. The DreamHack Open November 2021 was the reason behind the sudden rise in interest. The four winning teams shared a cumulative prize pool of $100,000 among them. The tournament ended on November 14 with the victory of team Fnatic who received a prize of $50,000.
5. In December 2021, the number of unique Counter-Strike players hit 20 million.
(Source: Counter-Strike Blog)
More than 20 million people played CS:GO across all platforms in December 2021 and as usual, numbers are quite staggering when it comes to CS:GO. The game is currently available on PC, macOS, Linux, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PlayStation 3.
6. In 2022, most CS:GO players come from the US and Brazil.
(Source: Playercounter)
According to the latest CS:GO player count 2022, most CS:GO players come from the US. This is common for the most popular video games for years. The US hosts a large gaming community and almost 15% of the CS:GO player base comes from there. 11% came from Brazil, 7% - from Germany, 4.50% - from the UK, and 4.20% - from Russia.
Image © Essentially eSports
Is CS:GO dead in 2022?
CS:GO is definitely not dead in 2022. The game ranks #1 on Steam and #13 on Twitch and is currently the most popular game for PC. Between 430,000 and 800,000 people play CS:GO across all devices in 2022 and the game has around 20 million monthly active players.
How many people play CS:GO?
The CS:GO population has remained steady over the last few years. The game is a record-breaker on Steam by number of concurrent players after PUBG and is the most played game on Steam based on number of concurrent players. In 2022, CS:GO has around 20 million monthly active players.
7. As of November 2021, the peak number of concurrent CS:GO players on Steam was 935,590.
(Source: Statista)
The Steam Charts Top Records is a list that consists of the top 10 games by number of concurrent players of all time on the platform. CS:GO ranks #2 on that list with more than 1 million concurrent players (April 2020), just after PUBG. According to the latest Dota 2 player count 2022, the popular MOBA game ranks #3 with just a couple of thousand players less than CS:GO.
8. In February 2020, there were 24 million CS:GO monthly active users.
(Source: Statista)
Shooter games have always been on top of gaming charts and CS:GO is no exception. Without a doubt, the variety of different game mods keeps gamers coming back for more. And of course, the coronavirus lockdown in 2020 brought many people back to their favorite games.
9. In December 2021, CS:GO was the most popular game for PC in the world.
(Source: Newzoo)
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive by Valve Corporation was the most popular game for PC in the world in December 2021. Followed by Dota 2, Halo: Infinite, Rocket League, and Apex Legends. It seems appropriate to mention that games like Grand Theft Auto V and Rainbow Six Siege are in the top 10 and they come after CS:GO.
10. April 2020 saw the peak number of CS:GO concurrent players on Steam in the last two years.
(Source: Statista)
The pandemic hit us hard in H1 2020 and games like CS:GO saw an incredible increase in interest. Counter-Strike has been the most popular shooter game in Western countries for two decades now and in April 2020, more than 1,3 million people played the game concurrently on Steam.
11. As of January 2022, the peak number of CS:GO concurrent players on Steam is 1,305,714.
(Source: Steam Charts)
The Steam Charts Top Records is a list that consists of the top 10 games by number of concurrent players of all time. And CS:GO ranks #2 on that list with more than 1.3 million people playing the game concurrently (April 2020). The ultimate record-breaker is PUBG of course, with more than 3.2 million concurrent players on Steam.
12. By 2023, the cumulative global tournament prize pool for Counter-Strike is expected to reach $45.6 million.
(Source: Statista)
According to the forecasts, the game will continue to receive as much attention (if not even more) from gamers in the near future. In 2018, the global tournament prize pool amounted to $22.67 million.
13. In December 2019, 600,000 Counter-Strike players received a VAC ban on Steam because of cheating issues.
(Source: PCGamesN)
In May 2020, Valve issued new 500,000 VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) bans as a desperate measure to stop gamers from cheating. However, the issue of CS:GO cheaters continues to this day even after the developers started the campaign with the CS:GO overwatch - the gamers who are appointed to report cheaters. However, by 2021, more than 4 million VAC bans for CS:GO have been received by players who cheat and use hacks. (We’ll cover CS:GO cheating in a minute.)
Image © Dexerto
14. During the 2021 IEM, 596,000 people watched the CS:GO eSports event.
(Source: Statista)
The series of eSports events called International Extreme Masters were held all over the world in 2020 and 2021. CS:GO was a part of both tournaments. Due to the pandemic, many people were forced to watch the battles from home which is one of the reasons why the viewership was so numerous. In 2020, the peak number of viewers for a CS:GO IEM match was more than 1 million people. In 2021, the match between Natus Vincere and Team Liquid was watched by almost 600,000 viewers.
15. In 2018, the annual worldwide revenue of CS:GO amounted to $414 million.
(Source: Statista)
The statistics for the 2019 and 2020 CS:GO revenue haven’t been published yet, but we suspect that based on the number of CS:GO players and the continuously increasing fan base - the 2019 and 2020 revenue is expected to be higher than the $414 million from 2018.
16. The top-earning CS:GO player of all time, Natus Vincere, made $4.2 million in 2021.
(Source: esportsearnings)
2021 was a good year for eSports tournaments in terms of prize pools. The legendary CS:GO player known as Natus Vincere earned over $4 million from 16 CS:Go tournaments in 2021 with prizes ranging from $3,500 to $1 million.
Brief history of Counter-Strike
- 2018: Counter-Strike: Danger Zone
- 2014: Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies
- 2013: Counter-Strike Online 2
- 2012: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- 2007: Counter-Strike Online
- 2004: Counter-Strike Neo, Source, Condition Zero
- 2003: Xbox release
- 1999: Counter-Strike
The Counter-Strike series are pretty well-known among the gaming community. Counter-Strike is originally a modification of the legendary Half-Life. The game was a hit since the very beginning in 1999 and of course, after the release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in 2012 everyone wanted in. Another wave of interest came after the release of the fast-paced battle royale mode Danger Zone in December 2018.
Image © ZDNet
CS:GO Danger Zone
One of the last and most beloved additions to CS:GO is the battle royale mode called Danger Zone. The last-man-standing games have always fascinated the crowds and when CS:GO released the battle royale mode, everyone got mad with excitement. Seriously!
The rules are simple: a total of maximum 18 people enter the game either Solo or as a Duo. After the game starts they need to collect equipment and fight each other until a player (or a team of two) is left alone at the end and wins the game. It’s a hoot and a half!
CS:GO cheaters
Nowadays, cheating in video games and using hacks has become a new normal, unfortunately. Regardless of the type of game, there would be players who just want a quick win. Even some CS:GO pro players have been caught using hacks and some of them even received a VAC ban from Steam. Which would put an end to their career as professional eSports players of course.
However, in CS:GO we’re facing next-level cheating every day. According to the unofficial statistics of the people who play CS:GO on our team, as many as 50% of CS:GO players use some kind of cheat or hack. CS:GO cheaters are famous for artificial aiming and wallhacks.
Having a huge advantage over your rivals might sound like fun, but gamers who don’t use hacks get really mad at those who do, and some pretty ugly conflicts get started that way. The issue is still going and unfortunately, people love using hacks for an easy win.
CS:GO overwatch
CS:GO hackers beware! The so-called CS:GO overwatch represents the experienced members of the Counter-Strike community, called ‘investigators’, who review reports and declare (or dismiss) gamers as cheaters. This might lead to applying temporary bans or the terminal VAC ban.
The Counter-Strike developers - Valve, have taken measures against the CS:GO cheating issue - scanning for, catching, and taking action against cheater accounts has been going on for years now. Having in mind the severity of the problem, the developers have started appointing gamers who wish to participate in the effort of getting rid of CS:GO cheaters. It’s impossible to make people stop cheating in video games, but let’s hope that all the efforts of the developers and the community to make things better for the gamers who play by the rules would actually make a change.
Games like CS:GO 2022
If you have been a CS:GO player for the better part of your gaming career and wish for something new but in the same video game genre, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s our list of the best games like CS:GO in 2022:
Valorant
Valorant is arguably the best game like CS:GO in 2022. According to the latest Valorant player count 2022, around 13 million people play Valorant every month. The free-to-play first-person hero shooter was developed and published by Riot Games in June 2020 and has quickly established itself as one of the best shooter games in the gaming community. Players enter the game as Agents from different cultures and backgrounds and have a wide variety of weapons to choose from. There are several game modes to choose from which definitely keeps people coming back for more.
Rainbow Six Siege
According to the latest Rainbow Six Siege player count 2022, between 50,000 and 100,000 people play the game concurrently on Steam each month. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is one of the most successful online tactical shooter video games in 2022. It was developed and published by Ubisoft in 2015 and in December 2020 the company released the game for the next-gen platforms - PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Escape from Tarkov
In 2022, this first-person shooter ranks #5 on Twitch with an average of 195,000 average concurrent viewers in Q1. The game was developed and published by Battlestate Games in 2017 and it’s one of the most popular shooter games in 2022. It’s set in the city of Tarkov, Northwestern Russia (2015-2026). The game offers an immersive military experience, great fighting locations, and a virtual flea market to trade firearms, armor, and equipment in the game.
Squad
The tactical first-person shooter Squad was developed and officially published on Steam by Offworld Industries in September 2020 but players have had early access on Steam since 2015. People enter the game as a part of a 9-player team and fight the opposing team on a relatively big map. Squad players enjoy the multiple updates and content releases from the developers every few months as well as the combat realism the game is famous for.
Insurgency
The multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video game Insurgency was developed and published by New World Interactive in 2014 and is still among the top games like CS:GO in 2022. Players say it’s one of the most realistic shooter games on the market and we can now enjoy the sequel to the game - Insurgency: Sandstorm. The gameplay is intense and is not for the light-hearted. The amazing design and difficulty make Insurgency a favorite among shooter games fans in 2022.
Wrap up
Is CS:GO dead in 2022? The CS:GO player count 2022 conclusively proves that the game is not dead and the interest of the audience is as high as ever. Between 430,000 and 800,000 people play CS:GO concurrently across all platforms in 2022 and the game still ranks #1 on Steam and is in the top 20 Twitch games.
Today we recommended five games like CS:GO to enjoy in 2022 if you wish for a little diversity in the same genre. It’s worth trying something new every once in a while - discover your new favorite shooter game in 2022.
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