The average CS:GO player base dropped by nearly 17 percent in June

The average CS:GO player base has been decreasing since February, but it dropped 16.75 percent in June–the second-largest decline ever recorded since April 2018, according to SteamCharts.

The numbers clearly took a hit after Valve started charging for access to CS:GO Prime matchmaking on June 4, with new players having to buy the Prime status upgrade for $15. Although part of the player base celebrated the change because CS:GO Prime matchmaking had too many cheaters who got Prime status for grinding the game’s levels, many people gave up on playing CS:GO. The FPS title averaged 659,888 players during May, which decayed to 549,347 average players in June.

This huge average player base decline is a worrying sign for CS:GO, which has yet to implement the Source 2 mechanic, while Riot Games’ FPS VALORANT continues to attract more players across every region because it offers a far more engaging experience to new players. Valve recently changed the Active Duty map pool for the first time since March 2019, with the addition of Ancient in the place of Train in May.

We’ll see if CS:GO will keep losing players in the following months, especially during the PGL Stockholm Major, which will run from October 23 to November 7. The Major tends to attract more casual players to the game but that may not be enough this time.