More than two decades after its release, CS:GO continues its reign among multiplayer FPS titles both as a game, as well as as an esport. Indeed, for the second time this month, our precious shooter surpassed its own all-time peak player record, exceeding 1,323,700 concurrent players.
The new record was set on February 19, just eight days after the previous record was broken, with more than 1,320,200 players logging in at the same time. Before that, the highest peak was over 1,305,700 concurrent players, set back in April 2020.
Steamcharts.com at 3:15 PM CET, February 20, 2023.
Clearly, Counter-Strike has never been more popular, and the viewership stats of some of the Major tournaments are proof of that. Take the most recent three — PGL Major Stockholm 2021, PGL Major Antwerp 2022, and IEM Rio Major 2022.
All unforgettable spectacles; the events placed as the top three most-watched CS:GO tournaments in history. Needless to say, the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 is fated to be an epic one, so expect the top positions to be attacked again!
Image from Esportscharts.com
Lastly, the number of teams that attended BLAST.tv Paris Major Open Qualifiers so far speaks for itself with over 2,500 squads battling to be in with a shot of Paris! This incredible number of teams from all around the globe trying to get into the Major indicates that the Counter-Strike esports scene is well alive and thriving, just like the game itself.
Here’s what the CS:GO analyst Jacob "Pimp" Winneche thinks is the reason for Counter-Strike’s stellar success:
"It is quite interesting that CS:GO keeps peaking in player numbers. I think part of the reason is down to the strong culture of Counter-Strike. It’s been around for forever, and the game itself is strong to the core. VALORANT has most likely also helped bring even more attention to FPS pc games, and like everyone else, people get smarter over time :P"
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