Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) has broken its peak concurrent player record with 1,519,457 players on Steam, thanks to the recent announcement of Counter-Strike 2.

Counter-Strike has been one of the most popular shooters on Steam for as long as I can remember, and announcing a new game in the franchise has generated a lot of excitement. Counter-Strike 2 will share a lot of content from CS:GO, meaning that all the fancy skins players have acquired will be transferred over. The announcement has also led to an uptick in skin marketplace trading in CS:GO, given that even the most expensive skins are being transferred to the new game.

The surge in player numbers is believed to be because access to Counter-Strike 2's beta will favour players who have played a lot of CS:GO. This has resulted in a surge of players wanting to experience the game in its prime for one last time before the new title's release.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has been rising since its launch, rarely falling below 400,000 daily players over a year. The release of the accessible version of CS:GO in late 2018 stabilised the game's player base, with an average of around a million players year-over-year.

The announcement of Counter-Strike 2 has been met with almost universally positive reactions from regular players and esports veterans alike. Valve, the game's developers, have received praise for creating a promising new entry to the franchise. The reaction has been so positive that some players have gone as far as to say that Valve has made their dream game.

Despite the announcement of Counter-Strike 2, it is unlikely that the game will signal the final death knell for CS:GO, given that many people still enjoy playing Counter-Strike 1.6, released in 2003, and the release of Counter-Strike 2 is unlikely to change that. The franchise's future looks bright, with many players excited to see what Valve has in store.