How to play CS:GO in 2025

Counter-Strike 2 is good, but it's still not quite CS:GO, and that's something has left a lot of people wondering how they can play CS:GO in 2025.

A game that was taken away from us when CS2 released in 2023, it was a beautiful game, and although the graphical updates in its sequel are appreciated, CS:GO still stands as the best Counter-Strike game.

Given that CS2 replaced CS:GO in our Steam library's, many people think that because of that, CS:GO is unable to be played. But that isn't true.

In this quick and easy guide, we'll tell you how you can still play CS:GO in 2025 as well as how you can find matches to get the experience you've been missing since CS2 released.

How to play CS:GO in 2025

Playing CS:GO instead of CS2 is incredibly easy, you can do it in just a few clicks.

To play CS:GO, follow these simple steps:

• Open Steam.
• Go to your Library.
• Right-click on CS2.
• Select 'Properties'.
• Click on 'Betas'.
• Click on the drop-down menu for 'Beta participation'. It should currently say 'None'.
• Select the 'Legacy version of CS:GO'.
• The game will now download.
• Navigate to: drive:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\csgo and in the steam.inf file, change the 'ClientVersion' field to 2000258.
• Launch CS2, but ensure to click on the 'Legacy version of CS:GO' option.
• Enjoy CS:GO.

How to find CS:GO matches in 2025

Now that you're on CS:GO, you might want to actually want to play a competitive match. Sure, playing on your old workshop maps is fun, and so is feeling the difference in gunplay between the two games, but it can't beat a real match.

Fortunately, there is a service that will allow you to find and play competitive CS:GO matches in 2025.

That service is called 'Popflash', which you may be familiar with if you played a lot of team-based games in CS:GO. Primarily used for finding scrims with other teams, it now also serves as a hub for people who still want to play competitive CS:GO in 2025.

The only thing to bear in mind is that Popflash isn't supported by Valve, so you can't guarantee the safety of your account when using the service.

But what's life without a little bit of risk?