What is CSGO?

July 13, 2022 0 844

If you have been playing video games for over a year, you might have heard about CSGO. But what exactly is CSGO, and why do so many gamers talk about it? With this article, we will try to answer precisely that.

In short, CSGO is a popular competitive first-person shooter and arguably one of the most popular games on the market. CSGO is also one of the pioneers of first-person-shooter esports, and it helped in making FPS esports mainstream. To find answers to other questions related to CSGO, like how hard it is to play CSGO and what the gameplay of CSGO is like, keep on reading.

Key Takeaways

CSGO is a popular competitive first-person shooter game and one of the pioneers of first-person-shooter esports, which helped in making FPS esports mainstream.
CSGO was developed by Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment, and it was published by Valve. The game was officially released on August 21, 2012, for multiple platforms.
CSGO is an objective-based game where two teams, the Terrorists and the Counter-Terrorists, compete against each other. The primary game mode is competitive, where players compete against each other in teams of two, with five players on each team.
CSGO features a variety of weapons that can be purchased at the beginning of each round with money earned in previous rounds by completing objectives or killing enemies.
CSGO offers a range of game modes, including Competitive, Casual, Deathmatch, Arms Race, Demolition, Wingman, Flying Scoutsman, Retakes, and Danger Zone, which provide different experiences for players.

TLDR

Who Made CSGO?

The simple answer is that Valve is the one who made CSGO. However, CSGO is not a game that was made by a single entity. Rather, it was a collaborative effort by several talented individuals from more than one organization.

Originally, Counter-Strike Source, the prequel for CSGO, was developed by Valve. Hidden Path Entertainment was in the process of porting Counter-Strike Source onto consoles. During this process, Valve stepped in and decided to turn this port into a full game, which marked the development of CSGO. In conclusion, CSGO was developed by Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment, and it was published by Valve.

When Did CSGO Come Out?

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive officially began development in March of 2010. The game was announced about one year later, on the 12th of August 2011. It did not take long for players to actually be able to try the game for the first time. Only about three months after the announcement, the closed beta for CSGO was released on the 30th of November 2011.

The game remained in closed beta for several months. CSGO finally came out on the 21st of August, 2012, for Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. CSGO for Linux was released later on the 23rd of September, 2014.

CSGO Gameplay Explained

CSGO is an objective-based game where two teams compete with each other. The two teams in CSGO are the Terrorists and the Counter-Terrorists. In CSGO, your objective will depend on which team you are in and the map you are playing. Also, a single match in CSGO may have multiple rounds where each team tries to complete its objectives. In this type of match, the teams switch sides after a couple of rounds.

Depending on the map, there can be two main objectives of the Terrorists. If the map has a hostage situation, then the main objective of the Terrorists is to prevent the Counter-Terrorists from getting to the hostages and rescuing them. If the map has a bomb situation, then the Terrorists must secure a plant site and plant the Bomb on that site.

In the same way, if the map has a hostage situation, then the Counter-Terrorists must get to the hostages, secure them, and then escort them to the rescue zone. If the map has a bomb situation, then the main objective of the Counter-Terrorists is to secure the bomb sites and prevent the Terrorists from planting the bomb. If the bomb has been planted, then the Counter-Terrorists must defuse it.

Either way, another objective of both the Counter-Terrorists and the Terrorists is to eliminate the other team. If Counter-Terrorists eliminate the Terrorists before the Counter-Terrorists even reach the hostages or before the Terrorists can plant the bomb, then the Counter-Terrorists will win. In the same way, if Counter-Terrorists are eliminated before they reach the hostages or before the Terrorists plant the bomb, then the Terrorists will win.

Both teams have access to several weapons that can be bought at the beginning of each round with money earned in previous rounds by completing objectives or killing enemies.

CSGO Game Modes Explained

There are a total of nine game modes in CSGO. Namely, Competitive, Casual, Deathmatch, Arms Race, Demolition, Wingman, Flying Scoutsman, Retakes, and Danger Zone. Out of all these game modes, the primary game mode for CSGO is the competitive mode.

In the competitive game mode, players compete against each other in teams of two, with five players on each team. There are a total of 30 rounds in the competitive mode, with teams switching sides from Counter-Terrorists to Terrorists and vice versa after 15 rounds. The teams that win the most rounds out of the 30 by completing the objectives will win the match.

Another feature of the competitive mode is that each player gets a rank based on their skill after playing a certain number of competitive matches. This rank decides which players will be competing with each other in a competitive match.

The rest of the game modes in CSGO do not affect your competitive rank. They are less serious game modes and are meant for players to have fun or get some warmup before heading into a competitive match. Danger Zone is CSGO’s take on the battle royale genre. Up to a total of 18 players can take part in Danger Zone at a time.

CSGO Weapons

In CSGO, there are eight weapon types. Namely, pistols, light machine guns, shotguns, submachine guns, assault rifles, scoped assault rifles, grenades, and sniper rifles. All of these are categorized into five categories. These categories are pistol, heavy (includes shotguns and LMGs), SMGs, Rifles (includes assault rifles, scoped assault rifles, and sniper rifles), and grenades.

You can purchase any of these weapons at the start of the round with cash. As we have already mentioned, you get cash based on your performance in your previous rounds.

Certain weapons are exclusive to Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists. Terrorists can not purchase weapons exclusive to Counter-Terrorists and vice versa. For example, only the Terrorists have access to the AK-47, while only the Counter-Terrorists have access to the M4A1-S and the M4A4.

However, if you manage to kill an enemy who is carrying an AK-47 or either of the M4s, then you can pick it up off the ground regardless of which team you are on. Also, if you survive a round with a weapon in your hand, that weapon will be carried on to the next round. In other words, you won’t have to spend money to use it for the next round.

CSGO Skins

The great thing about CSGO is that you are not stuck with simple and ugly designs for each of the weapons. CSGO has tons of weapon skins to choose from, with each one of them varying in color and design.

With the help of the weapon skins in CSGO, you can use much better-looking weapons in CSGO matches. For example, you can use a solid gold AK-47 in a CSGO match by equipping the Gold Arabesque skin for the AK-47.

There are tons of different methods you can use to acquire CSGO weapons. First of all, you can get CSGO skins for free from the in-game drops. All you have to do is play a match of CSGO, and there is a chance that you get a weapon after ending the match.

However, if you want to pick a weapon skin for yourselves, then you can either buy it from the Steam Community Market. Or, you can also try third-party online marketplaces. But always make sure that you are on a trusted platform.

If you want to try out your luck, you can try opening some in-game CSGO cases. There is a chance that you might get super rare skin from these cases.

CSGO Ranks Explained

As we have already mentioned, after playing a certain number of competitive CSGO matches, you are awarded a competitive rank based on your performance and skill level. There are a total of 18 ranks in CSGO, and each one of them is listed below.

Silver I

Silver II

Silver III

Silver IV

Silver Elite

Silver Elite Master

Gold Nova I

Gold Nova II

Gold Nova III

Gold Nova IV

Master Guardian I

Master Guardian II

Master Guardian Elite

Distinguished Master Guardian

Legendary Eagle

Legendary Eagle Master

Supreme First Master Class

The Global Elite

Each consecutive rank represents a higher skill level than the preceding one. Each of these ranks has a specific skill number assigned to them, which is called Elo. As you get better at the game, you get a higher rank and thus a higher Elo.

The Rank you get depends on how much Elo you have. This ELo depends on factors related to your performance in a competitive CSGO match. For example, if you play a competitive CSGO match and get a ton of kills, then your Elo will go up. However, if you lose a competitive match, your Elo will go down. The net result of your performance will determine if your Elo will go up or down, and as a result, you will get a higher or lower rank.

CSGO Matchmaking Explained

By now, you may have gotten an understanding of how you get a Rank based on your skill level and how the competitive mode in CSGO revolves around an Elo-based ranking system. The thing about the ranking system of CSGO is that it is much more than just a way to represent a player’s skill level. The rank of a player is also used in another feature of CSGO called matchmaking.

In simple terms, CSGO matchmaking is a system that pairs CSGO players with each other that are searching for a match. The matchmaking system takes the help of the ranking system to decide which players are going to be a part of the match you are about to play.

The matchmaking system works by taking your Elo into account and then selecting other players with a similar Elo to place them in either your team or the opponent’s team for a particular match. In this way, you will always get teammates and opponents that have a similar skill level to that of yours. This is also a great way to improve the overall experience of a competitive CSGO match, as you don’t have to deal with super-tough opponents or really bad teammates.

What’s the Point of CSGO?

The main point of CSGO is to simply win the match. When you win more competitive matches, you get a higher rank. However, if you start to lose competitive matches, then it is time to improve your skill so you can start winning again.

In a competitive CSGO match, the main objective of the Terrorists is to secure a plant site and then plant the bomb or kill the Counter-Terrorists. On the other hand, the main objective of the Counter-Terrorists is to prevent the Terrorists from planting the bomb, defuse it if the Terrorists have already planted it, or kill the Terrorists before they plant the bomb.

Is CSGO Hard to Play?

If you have never played a competitive first-person shooter in your life and are used to getting respawned in a few seconds after you get killed, then CSGO is going to be really hard for you. The skill level required to play CSGO is very high, and the opponents you come across in a competitive CSGO match will not go easy on you.

Also, even if you do manage to get better at the game and start to win a few competitive matches, you will start to come across even more experienced players that will test your skills to the limits. So yes, CSGO is hard to play.

How to Get Better at CSGO?

As we have already mentioned, CSGO is by no means an easy game. However, if you are willing to put in the hours for practice, you will get better at CSGO. The overall gameplay of CSGO is fairly simple, so it’s just a matter of perfecting the individual skills required in CSGO, and you will start winning matches in no time.

To get better at CSGO, first of all, you will have to work on your aim. CSGO is a first-person shooter, which means your success in a match heavily depends on your aim. If you have better aim than your opponents, you will most likely win a gunfight against them. To get better aim in CSGO, you can play more deathmatches and also try out aim trainers.

Another thing that you should do to get better at CSGO is to learn the maps. You should know all the most common spots where enemies like to hold, and you should prefer these locations. Preferring will give you an edge over the opponent holding an angle. Also, you should learn all the necessary smoke locations to take a particular site. And lastly, there is nothing better than practice to get better at CSGO.

How Many People Play CSGO NOW?

If we take a look at the Steam charts for the past seven days, it appears that there are about 0.3 million to 0.8 million concurrent players for CSGO, depending on the time of the day.

What this means is that during peak hours, you can expect to see over 0.8 million, concurrent players. Also, for any given day, you can expect to see a minimum of no less than 0.3 million concurrent players.

Since this trend can be observed for over a month, it will likely stay the same for a few months to come.

Why is CSGO so Popular?

There are several reasons why CSGO is soo popular. First of all, we have to understand that CSGO is not one of those games that blew up at launch. The game acquired a large audience and player base gradually over several years.

One of the main reasons why CSGO is soo popular is because of its competitive mode. Before CSGO, first-person shooter games mostly revolved around the deathmatch mode. However, deathmatch is a casual game mode because there are not a lot of consequences for dying, and there is no way to measure your skill level.

In a competitive CSGO match, if you die in a round, you will stay dead for that round and won’t be able to help your team, unlike in other deathmatch games where you just respawned. Also, CSGO gave players a much-needed ranking system so they can measure their skill level. All this makes the game super fun to play.

Another reason why CSGO is soo popular is because of how optimized it is. You can run it even on an old laptop and still get decent framerates. Also, a massive esports scene for CSGO started to emerge, which further fueled CSGO’s popularity.

Is CSGO Dying?

The simple answer to this is no, CSGO is not dying. But why do people assume that it is dying? The thing is, CSGO has been out for quite a while now. It has been over nine years since CSGO launched. This may lead many people to believe that CSGO is nearing its end, but as we look at the player count numbers, this is far from the truth.

Firstly, as we have already mentioned, the game did not blow up at launch. The player count for CSGO has increased gradually over time, which is actually a good thing. According to the Steam charts, CSGO did not cross a concurrent player count of 100,000 players until the beginning of 2014. Starting from 2014, the average player count for CSGO increased gradually, and it peaked in April of 2020 with a concurrent player count of over 1.3 million players.

Since its all-time peak, the average concurrent player count for CSGO has seen a drop. However, it absolutely does not suggest that the game is dying because CSGO still retains a healthy average concurrent player count of around 0.8 million players. This is massive considering not even Triple A titles retain this number a year after launch.

Conclusion

CSGO is a great game, and it is a must-try for anyone who is a fan of first-person shooters. While the game came out all the way back in 2012, the average concurrent player count for CSGO has never been healthier, with the concurrent player count reaching over 0.8 million players every day.

While it is true that CSGO is hard to play, you should not be discouraged just because of this. The gameplay is fairly simple, and with some practice, you can get better at it in no time. If you haven’t tried out CSGO, we strongly recommend that you try it out right now.