Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 11 years old but has never been more popular

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1,320,219 users logged in at the same time over the weekend

CS:GO
(Image credit: Valve)

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive may be more than a decade old, but it's currently the most popular game on Steam right now.

In fact, despite releasing over 11 years ago, it seems CS:GO has never been more popular; the shooter has just broken its own concurrent user record - the term given to the number of players logged into a game all at the same time - clocking up a staggering 1,320,219 simultaneous users over the weekend. 

Steam's 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, though, 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 on the platform at once for the very first time.

Keep up to date with all the best games set to launch later this year with our guide to new games 2023. 

Vikki Blake
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.