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As Counter-Strike 2 grows in popularity, Valve has decided to drop support for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. CS:GO being shut down was announced a while ago but it has just taken effect.
With over a decade of esports fame and polish to its name, it’s a sad day for fans who grew up in firefights across iconic maps like Dust. Its community has consistently engaged with its billion-dollar skins market for years but it’s time to move on. While most of them have pivoted to CS2, issues like false VAC bans and hitbox bugs slowed its advance.
What will happen to CS:GO on Jan 1 2024
CS:GO is not going offline. Instead, it will now be a frozen ‘legacy’ product, with no more forthcoming updates and official matchmaking support according to Valve’s Steam help page. While this might not be sweet news for players, it does mean that DirectX 9, 32-bit operating systems, and macOS users still have an option to play the game.
While CS2 promises graphical advantages and some reworks of classic maps, it drops support for the above users. According to Valve, they ‘represent less than one percent of active CS:GO players.’ Valve also notes that ‘certain functionality that relies on compatibility with the Game Coordinator (e.g., access to inventory) may degrade and/or fail.’ This sounds rather concerning for players who want to retain access to their items in the legacy version of CS:GO. It remains to be seen how this abandonment will impact the frozen build of the old game.
While established franchises like Battlefield and Call of Duty released multiple sequels to their best-selling titles, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive sat atop its throne without a nudge for years. Constant updates and a dedicated community meant that CS:GO consistently dominated Steam player charts. Most of the fanbase have made the switch to CS2, even if veterans have some minor complaints.
CS:GO being shut down feels like the end of an era. Players on Reddit noticed the legacy build in the ‘Betas’ tab of CS2. And while its sequel appears to boast of a solid player count at Steamcharts, there’s no denying the impact CS:GO had on the gaming industry.
