How many people play CS2? Player count in 2023

Counter-Strike’s player count has been on the rise for years, and now that CS2 has become Valve’s prized possession, we’ll likely see it keep climbing. But how many people play CS2 in 2023?

CS:GO reached millions of concurrent users towards the end of its life. With more players flocking to the VALORANT rival each day, odds are we’ll see more record-breaking numbers from the FPS in the future.

Counter-Strike has garnered a massive collection of gamers month after month. Every year sees a substantial increase in player count, and 2023 is no different. Now CS2 has taken over, will die-hard CS:GO players refuse to make the leap over to the Source 2 update, or will we see the franchise get bigger than ever before?

How many people play CS2 in 2023?

CS:GO had its player peak of 1,818,773 concurrent players five months ago, but CS2 is currently trailing behind, as of publication. CS2’s debut maintained a 1 million concurrent player base, according to SteamDB.

The number, however, seems to be increasing as the day goes on. 

Fear not, this number will likely rise as players around the world boot up their PCs to test out the new Counter-Strike for the first time. Players who hadn’t been granted access to the beta can now test out the Source 2 update.

How does CS2’s player count compare to CS:GO?

CS2’s predecessor started off with a measly 52,261 concurrent player peak in its debut month. It took CS:GO a year and a half to reach the 100,000s, and almost eight years to reach the millions.

Thanks to CS:GO’s long-term success, CS2’s concurrent player count has springboarded into the millions on its first day.

Eleven years after its initial release, CS:GO reached 1.3 million more concurrent players than its August 2012 debut. We can only imagine how these numbers will be in 11 years’ time for CS2.

CS:GO has had a peak player count sitting in the millions since August 2022, according to SteamCharts.com. Each month since then has been an increase on the last, barring two dips in June and July of 2023.

This bodes well for CS2. Valve’s newest title has the perfect launch pad to set it on the right course to take over the gaming scene. If trends continue, we could see the Counter-Strike franchise break two million concurrents soon.