CS:GO is still breaking concurrent records on Steam

CS:GO
(Image credit: Valve)

CS:GO's staggering popularity shows no sign of slowing down as, once again, Valve's seminal shooter smashes its own concurrent user record.

It was only a little over a month ago that the shooter broke its own concurrent user record - the term given to the number of players logged into a game simultaneously - topping 1,519,457 concurrent players.

Now, despite being over a decade old, CS:GO is still attracting huge numbers of players, this time exceeding 1.8 million simultaneous players: 1,818,773, to be precise. 

That solidifies CS:GO's position as Steam's second biggest game ever, second only to PUBG: Battlegrounds, which still sports a staggering concurrent record of 3.2m players. And whilst it's tempting to think it unlikely that CS:GO could come close to toppling PUBG's record… well, CS:GO is already over halfway there (thanks, SteamDB), adding half a million to the concurrent record since it peaked during the pandemic. 

It's likely no coincidence that renewed interest in the game comes after the next generation of Valve's iconic FPS, Counter-Strike 2, was finally announced. It currently targets a summer 2023 release window, but a limited test is already up and running.

Steam, too, is incredibly popular at the moment. Its upward trend began three years ago, in January 2020, when the world began to self-isolate at the start of the COVID-19 crisis. On February 2, Steam's existing record of 18,537,490 users – set in January 2018 – was surpassed, smashing the existing record by an impressive 300,000 to peak at 18,801,944 players. 

It's gone on to be broken several times since, including a weekend in March 2020 that saw numbers breach 20 million for the first time. We then saw 24.7 million users peak in December 2020, 26.5 million in February 2021, and at the end of October, the PC platform topped 30 million users at once for the first time.

Right now, Steam's own concurrent user record is 33,598,520, a record that was set last month.

Did you see that a Counter-Strike fan thinks they've found a reference to "Left4Dead3" in the files for CS2?

Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter. 

Read more
Monster Hunter Wilds trailer screenshot showing a young woman with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail smiling slightly, pumping her left fist in the air
Steam has doubled in size in just 5 years, as Monster Hunter Wilds' launch pushes it beyond 40 million concurrent users
The Steam logo
Valve "followed" 1.7 million Steam users for over a year, and now reports those gamers spent $20 million on microtransactions and another $73 million on games and DLC
Monster Hunter Wilds
Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and now Dota 2 fall to Monster Hunter Wilds as it crosses 1.3 million peak Steam players despite 49% positive reviews
The Fantastic Four seen in Marvel Rivals' Season 1 'Eternal Night Falls' trailer.
Marvel Rivals is more popular than ever, soaring past 570K Steam players to set a new record as Season 1 launches
Skyrim
Skyrim Special Edition is about to beat its concurrent player record 9 years after launch thanks to a huge sale
Counter-Strike 2 release trailer screenshot showing an old-style white desktop PC running the Counter-Strike menu atop a wooden desk
After concerns from Valve, creators of CS:GO mod that aimed to "recreate the 1.6 vibe" are now "auditing the current build" to comply with guidelines
Latest in FPS
halflife screenshot showing a headcrab jumping at a player
Half-Life devs worried Gabe Newell "promised things that they couldn't possibly deliver" for the iconic FPS, but "they just didn't know" that they'd be able to do it yet
Former Valve exec recounts the meeting where Half-Life's publisher almost killed the iconic FPS: "Half-Life would quietly die. I was stunned"
FBC Firebreak screenshot for GamesRadar Big Preview showing a character throwing an electric shock grenade in a crowded room
FBC: Firebreak may be Remedy's first live-service game but the Control creators are going about it the right way, confirming that all playable post-launch content "will always be free"
"Valve would never ship another game": Former exec forced Half-Life publisher's hand by saying Gabe Newell and the team would pivot away from game dev
Gordon Freeman
Valve literally gives Half-Life away now, but 27 years ago it was carefully crushing its angry pirates: "None of them had actually bought the game"
FBC: Firebreak gameplay trailer reveal in Future Games Show: Spring Showcase
With an impressive new FBC: Firebreak trailer at the Future Games Show, Remedy confirms a Summer 2025 release window for its co-op shooter set in the Control universe
Latest in News
Lunar Remastered Collection
"Will today’s players still enjoy a game from 30 years ago?": JRPG icon Kei Shigema says he was thrilled to see Lunar getting a remaster even after all this time
Nick Offerman as Bill and Murray Bartlett as Frank in The Last of Us episode 3
The Last of Us season 2 showrunners tease a "gorgeous" episode akin to season 1’s Emmy-nominated Bill and Frank story: "Just you wait"
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
CD Projekt boss says "cutting-edge single-player games" – you know, like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 – will "continue to enjoy great popularity" despite industry shifts
Cyberpunk 2077
Despite releasing exactly zero new games, CD Projekt bagged $120 million in profit for 2024 – the Witcher and Cyberpunk studio's third-best result ever
Muse
Daredevil: Born Again midseason trailer teases Matt Murdock’s violent fight with Muse, including a gory scene straight from the comics
Batman looking over the city during Batman: Arkham City, one of the best PS3 games.
The PS2 Batman Begins game was considered such a "disaster" that Christopher Nolan turned down a Dark Knight-inspired game