Despite eternally sitting at the top of the Steam charts, the player count for Counter-Strike 2 is still an important metric to many in the community. From its early CS:GO days to its current day CS2, Counter-Strike continues to grow at an impressive rate, despite periods of fluctuation.
The doomers that predicted that Counter-Strike would die after the release of CS2 have been proved (so far) to be very wrong.
Before you jump below, consider trying your luck on Clash.gg – you could turn your unwanted skins into something much more valuable (18+ only)
Counter-Strike 2 Player Count (March 2025)
On March 1st, 2025, CS2 achieved 1,789,374 concurrent players, its highest ever player peak since releasing. CS2 is also currently averaging over 1 million players since mid February, which is also a first for the newest version of the game. The only time in Counter-Strike’s illustrious history when it was more popular was in May 2023, when CS:GO hit a peak of 1,818,773 and was averaging over 1.1 million players.
As mentioned earlier, CS2 effectively owns the top spot on Steam’s Most Played chart. There are only three games that have ever had higher concurrent player peaks: PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, Black Myth: Wukong, and Palworld. To put into context how popular CS2 is, PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS is currently the second most played game on Steam, and CS2 has almost twice as many players.
Why is CS2 More Popular Than CS:GO?
Despite resounding community resentment towards CS2 after it was first released, the game did reignite many dormant fans and attract several new ones. CS2’s esports scene has also flourished since the COVID-19 online-only era, attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers a day. While the game is certainly not in a perfect state, Valve has released updates addressing major issues, launched a new seasonal competitive model in Premier, and is keeping the map pool fresh.
Is CS2 in a good place? Is it possible that it eclipses 2 million players? Let us know down below or in the Insider Gaming forum.
If you want to unlock free daily cases and rewards in CS2, check out Clash.gg (18+ only)
Stay tuned to Insider Gaming for the latest esports news. And don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Comments