Counter-Strike posts massive player numbers in 2023

In a report by Newzoo, it can be seen that even after being around for over 20 years, gamers still prefer Counter-Strike over games such as VALORANT, GTA V, Call of Duty and League of Legends.

Counter-Strike held the 4th highest monthly average users count in 2023, a time during which the beloved FPS title went through a huge transition from CS:GO to CS2. Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft snatched the first three places in the category.

According to Newzoo, a few of Counter-Strike’s biggest strengths - “Competitive nature, culminating in active esports scene and a compelling core gameplay loop” has helped power the game through the pandemic and maintain its appeal. Their study spans across 37 markets, excluding India and China.

Originally intended to come with a console port, CS:GO’s devs followed through and the game made its way to Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2012 but was soon unplugged, considering the massive players numbers the game started piling up on PC.