CS2 average player count hits lowest number of 2023

Two months after its release, Valve’s highly-anticipated sequel to Counter-Strike, CS 2 has already hit its all-time low average player count for the year.

It has been almost two months since Counter-Strike 2 was released, but the sequel to CSGO has had trouble retaining its audience.  After taking an 18% player drop-off, the biggest since the game launched in 2012, earlier this month, Counter-Strike 2 has taken another substantial hit on its player count. The title has taken another -8.92% hit in the last 30 days, reaching the lowest average player count for this year, with only 721,469.0 average players recorded in October on Steam.

The previous all-time low of this came in January when only 726,150.3 players were playing CS: GO on average. This new player drop is more concerning for Valve as it comes just two months after the release of the high-anticipated sequel to its long-running FPS Shooter Counter-Strike.  With the continuous player drop coupled with players’ dissatisfaction and complaints with the game, Valve appears to be failing to meet players’ expectations despite its best efforts.

How has Counter-Strike 2 been faring almost two months into its release?

After a lengthy delay and limited beta test access, Counter-Strike 2 was released on September 27, 2023. With its release, CSGO—one of the greatest first-person shooters ever created and the long-time leader in the most played charts on Steam—saw a bright new future. Regretfully, Counter-Strike 2 has only received a mediocre reaction; this pattern seems to be persisting even with frequent upgrades from Valve.

The first-person shooter game’s player base has drastically decreased, down more than 20% from when it was first released, despite Valve’s staff providing frequent updates. Steam evaluations from users since the game’s release also show that opinions are “mixed.”

Over the past 30 days, the average daily player count for CS2 has been 721,469.0, according to SteamCharts. Naturally, this does not mean that Counter-Strike is going to end and that we should start counting down the days until it does. The most popular video game on Steam is still Valve’s new title. Dota 2, with 432,800 average concurrent users in November 2023, comes in second.

However, the decline in the average player count indicates that CS2 wasn’t the commercial success that was anticipated. Without a doubt, it will bounce back, especially as bug patches and upgrades appear and restore the lost CS:GO content that was not included in Source 2. Right now, the game’s present status isn’t pleasing the community.

Header: Valve