Counter-Strike just set a new peak player count ahead of Paris Major

Valve released a new line of cosmetics as well. These stickers of the logo of every participating team and signatures of all the participating players can be added to any weapon skin.

You could argue that the Paris Major is the last hurrah for competitive CS:GO - at least until the first Major of Counter-Strike 2.

Unlike in previous years where Valve will hold two Majors, Valve is holding only one for CS:GO this year and it will run from May 8 through May 21. Afterward, the enigmatic privately-owned development studio will key in its efforts toward one of the most highly anticipated sequels of all time, Counter-Strike 2, which will get its own Major next March.

Valve has had a fruitful year so far, especially in light of the success of the Steam Deck. But, its throne atop the non-Switch portable gaming market might be threatened once the ASUS ROG Ally comes out on May 11. { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the new all-time record for CS:GO?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) set a new all-time record of 1.8 million players, as per SteamDB and SteamCharts." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why is there a sudden influx of players for CS:GO?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The influx of players for CS:GO is attributed to two reasons: the announcement of Counter-Strike 2 and the final CS:GO Major with its tie-in rewards." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "When is the Paris Major for CS:GO?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The Paris Major for CS:GO is scheduled to kick off on May 8 and run through May 21." } } ] }