Valve’s efforts to stop the Counter-Strike: GO scammers have resulted in a huge drop in player numbers.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has charged players for access top rated games and reduced the number of players to over 100,000. It still remains one of the most popular titles on Steam, but it’s clear the community isn’t too happy about the latter.
As noted on SteamCharts Dot Esports, the CS: GO player base reported a staggering 16.75% drop in June. Just after the major matchmaking platform, Prime launched earlier this month. Players used to gain Prime status through gameplay. But recent changes have locked them in at over $15 – a move aimed at fighting scammers and hackers.
According to the same SteamCharts, CS: GO has been a bloody gamer since early 2021. There’s no doubt that parts of the CS community are happy to see Valve as active against scammers – but 100,000 don’t seem happy with the way it’s done. The valve should be wary of losing a very large player, although it’s not clear what the next steps will be.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive started back in 2012 and, thanks to constant updates and major revisions, was able to maintain its popularity almost a decade later. The title has recently moved to a free game plan before the tables finish behind a $15 paid wall.
Instead of having access to leaderboards, Valve introduced a new unranked playlist that uses skill-based play. But doesn’t give players skill groups. It seems that the move may not be enough to keep some players and it will be interesting to see how the game plays out for the rest of the year.
