It was recently discovered that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has hit a monumental peak player milestone. It’s not by any means a secret that CSGO has gone from strength to strength in recent months as players prepare to break into Counter-Strike 2, but the proof really is in these numbers. In the last one-year period, CSGO has sustained a peak player count of more than 1 million players every single month, without fail.

It’s a stunning record that has been secured ten years after the game was released, proving that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has an obscene level of staying power. Arguably, most of the growth has come from players accessing CSGO in order to qualify for a spot in the ongoing CS2 beta, but even so, the numbers are borderline ridiculous at this point. This decade-old title is constantly out-performing almost every new shooter that makes it to market.

Will Counter-Strike Ever Die?

Image Credit: Valve

It has to be stressed that Counter-Strike is at the top of the esports game in so many ways. It’s a ubiquitous title that is essentially a household name at this point, and everything from the value of most CSGO tournaments to the game’s presence in the esports betting scene is remarkable. With this recent record secured, CSGO has inked its name in the history books yet again — it seems that – in the last year – CSGO has been in the news time and again for its growth-related efforts.

In May 2023, when efforts to break into the CS2 beta began in earnest, a peak player count of 1,802,853 players was recorded. That was the highest peak in the history of the competitive shooter, and while numbers have dropped since then, Valve’s flagship game has still pulled in a peak of more than 1 million users every month.

It has been a busy few months for CSGO in the news. From content creators falling head-over-heels in love with opening cases to first-time players securing massively valuable skins, CSGO has been at the top of the newswire for a long time.

Related: Twitch Bans Promotion of CSGO Skin Gambling

When is Counter-Strike 2 Coming?

Recently, players have been wrestling with the suggestion that the ‘Limited Test’ for the Counter-Strike 2 beta is nearing its end. It’s assumed that once that is over, Valve will open the floodgates and allow millions of users to pour into CS2 following a full release of the game. It’ll first need to make sure its infrastructure is in tip-top shape, as that day will certainly bring Steam to its knees.

It isn’t known exactly when Counter-Strike 2 will be released, but it is launching in 2023 – that much has been confirmed. Given that there are only four months left in the year, we can safely assume we’ll be logging in to CS2 very soon.