The game pits two teams, Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists, against each other in different

objective-based game modes. The most common game modes involve the Terrorists planting a
bomb while Counter-Terrorists attempt to stop them, or Counter-Terrorists attempting to rescue
hostages that the Terrorists have captured. There are nine official game modes, all of which have
distinct characteristics specific to that mode. The game also has matchmaking support that allows
players to play on dedicated Valve servers, in addition to community-hosted servers with custom
maps and game modes. A battle-royale game-mode, "Danger Zone", was introduced in late 2018.
Global Offensive received positive reviews from critics on release, who praised the game for its
gameplay and faithfulness to the Counter-Strike series, though it was criticized for some early
features and the differences between the console and PC versions. Since its release, it has drawn in
an estimated 11 million players per month and remains one of the most played games on
Valve's Steam platform. In December 2018, Valve transitioned the game to a free-to-play model,
focusing on revenue from cosmetic items.
The game has an active esports scene, continuing the history of international competitive play from
previous games in the series. Teams compete in professional leagues and tournaments, with the
game often cited as being among the best in esports.
Counter-Strike 2, a major update bringing the game to the Source 2 engine, was announced on
March 22, 2023, and was released on September 27, 2023. Official matchmaking for Global
Offensive was shut down that day, though players were still able to connect to community servers. A
legacy version of Global Offensive was later released for outdated devices and platforms unable to
run Counter-Strike 2, though matchmaking was still disabled. Additionally, the game remains
playable on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Gameplay
Global Offensive, like prior games in the Counter-Strike series, is an objective-
based, multiplayer first-person shooter. Two opposing teams, the Terrorists and the Counter-
Terrorists, compete in game modes to repeatedly complete objectives, such as securing a location
to plant or defuse a bomb and rescuing or capturing hostages.[1][2] At the end of each short round,
players are rewarded based on individual and team performance with in-game currency to spend on
other weapons or utility in subsequent rounds.[3] Winning rounds generally rewards more money than
losing does, and completing map-based objectives, including killing enemies, gives additional cash
bonuses.[1][4]

An in-progress match on Dust II, in which the player is using

an AK-47
Global Offensive has nine official game modes: Competitive, Casual, Deathmatch, Arms Race,
Demolition, Wingman, Flying Scoutsman, Retakes and Danger Zone.[5][6][7][8] Competitive mode, the
primary gameplay experience,[9] pits two teams of five players against each other in a best-of-30
match.[10] When playing Competitive, players have a skill rank based on a Glicko rating system and
are paired with and against other players around the same ranking.[1] The Casual and Deathmatch
modes are less serious than Competitive mode and do not register friendly fire. Both are primarily
used as a practice tool.[11][12] Arms Race and Demolition, both based on mods for previous iterations in
the series, were added alongside eight new maps for the modes.[1] Arms Race is the Global
Offensive variant of the "Gun Game" mode in other games in the series.[1] Demolition is another
bomb defusal game mode, with gun upgrades only given to players who killed an enemy in the
previous round.[1] Wingman is a two-on-two bomb defusal game mode taking place over sixteen
rounds. Similar to Competitive, players are paired based on a dynamic skill ranking. [7] The Flying
Scoutsman mode equips players with only a SSG 08 (informally called the "Scout") and a knife in a
low-gravity map.[13] Retakes is a gamemode where three Terrorists will defend an already planted C4
against 4 Counter-Terrorists. Players will also be able to choose a loadout card at the beginning of
each round to retake (or defend) the bomb site.[8] Danger Zone was a battle-royale mode in which up
to 18 players search for weapons, equipment, and money in an effort to be the last person or team
remaining.[14][15] Valve also included an offline practice mode designed to help new players learn how
to use guns and grenades, called the Weapons Course.[16] Apart from the Weapons Course and
Danger Zone, all other game modes can be played online or offline with bots. [6]
There are five categories of purchasable weaponry: rifles, submachine guns, "heavy" weaponry
(light machine guns and shotguns), pistols, and grenades.[17] Each gun in Global Offensive has a
unique recoil pattern that can be controlled, a gameplay feature the series has long been associated
with.[18][19] Global Offensive also introduced weapons and equipment not seen in previous
installments, including tasers and an incendiary grenade.[20]
In-game matchmaking is supported for all online game modes and is managed through
the Steam platform.[21] The game servers run Valve Anti-Cheat to prevent cheating.[22] One form of
matchmaking in Global Offensive to prevent cheating is Prime Matchmaking which hosts matches
that can only be played with other users with the "Prime" status. This feature also results in more
equal matches as there are fewer "smurfs" in these matches.[23] The PC version of Global
Offensive also supports private dedicated servers that players may connect to through the
community server menu in-game. These servers may be heavily modified and can drastically differ
from the base game modes. There have been many community-made mods for the game, one of
the popular ones being Kreedz Climbing, a mod that makes players complete obstacle courses
requiring advanced strafing and jumping techniques.[24]

Development and release

External videos

Counter-Strike: A Brief History, a YouTube

video published by Valve on January 23, 2017

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the sequel to the popular first-person shooter Counter-Strike:
Source, developed by Valve. Global Offensive's development began when Hidden Path
Entertainment attempted to port Counter-Strike: Source onto video game consoles.[1][25] During
its development, Valve saw the opportunity to turn the port into a full game and expand on the
predecessor's gameplay. Global Offensive began development in March 2010, and was revealed to
the public on August 12, 2011.[26] The closed beta started on November 30, 2011, and was initially
restricted to around ten thousand people who received a key at events intended to showcase Global
Offensive. After issues with client and server stability were addressed, the beta was opened up to
progressively more people,[27] and at E3 2012, Valve announced that Global Offensive would be
released on August 21, 2012, with the open beta starting roughly a month before that. [27] Before the
public beta, Valve invited professional Counter-Strike players to play-test the game and give
feedback.[28]
There were plans for cross-platform multiplayer play between Windows, OS X, Linux, Xbox 360, and
PlayStation 3 players, but this was ultimately dropped so that the PC and Mac versions could be
actively updated.[29] On August 21, 2012, the game was publicly released on all platforms except
Linux,[30] which would not be released until September 23, 2014.[31]
Post-launch updates
Since the initial release of Global Offensive, Valve has continued to update the game by introducing
new maps and weapons, game modes, and weapon balancing changes.[32] One of the first major
additions to the game post-release was the "Arms Deal" update. Released on August 13, 2013, the
update added cosmetic weapon finishes, or skins, to the game. These items are obtainable by a loot
box mechanism; players would receive cases that could be unlocked using virtual keys, purchased
through in-game microtransactions.[33][25] Global Offensive has Steam Workshop support, allowing
users to upload user-created content, such as maps, weapon skins, and custom game-modes.
Some popular user-created skins are added to the game and are obtainable from unboxing them in
cases.[34] The creators of the skins are paid when their item is added to a case. [35] These skins helped
form a virtual economy in Global Offensive, leading to the creation of gambling, betting, and trading
sites.[36] The addition of skins and the associated virtual economy launched Global Offensive's player
count past the other games in the Counter-Strike series and is one of the most important updates in
the game's history.[25][37]
Events called "Operations" are held occasionally and can be accessed through purchasable
expansion packs in the form of "operation passes." These passes grant access to operation
objectives which are spread over different game modes, such as Arms Race and Deathmatch, [38] or
in operation-specific game modes, first seen in Operation Hydra, released in May 2017.
[39]
Completing these challenges rewards the player with XP and the ability to upgrade the operation
"coin." The maps in the operations are community made, meaning some of the revenue made goes
towards the map designers.[38][40]
An update in October 2014 added "music kits", which replace the default in-game music with music
from soundtrack artists commissioned by Valve. If a player with a music kit equipped becomes the
round's most valuable player, their music will play for others at the end of the round. There is a
feature that allows kits to be borrowed, and kits can be sold and exchanged through Steam's
Community Market.[41]
In 2016, the game saw two remakes of original Counter-Strike maps, as well as the introduction of
Prime matchmaking and additional items. As a part of the Operation Wildfire promotion, Nuke was
remade and re-released in February with the primary goals being to balance the map and make it
more aesthetically pleasing.[42] In April, Prime matchmaking was added to the game. To partake in
this mode, the user had to have a verified phone number connected to their account. It was
introduced in an attempt to prevent legitimate players from playing with cheaters or high-skilled
players playing on alternative, lower ranked accounts, a practice colloquially known as "smurfing".
[23]
Inferno, another original map, was re-released in October. Valve said they had three reasons
behind the remake: "to improve visibility; to make it easier to move around in groups; and to tune it
with player feedback."[43] Also in October, consumable ite