2022 has never been a better time to make your return to CS:GO. There is a fresh operation added just last month, with the addition of new modes and maps. CS:GO has never been more alive, for that matter.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive saw its resurgence in 2020 with a vital visibility update that was a direct follow up of the overhaul of the communication system that now lets players ping objects and areas, official support for a Retake mode, and the camouflage woes of the new agent skins.
Since the moment the game went free-to-play in 2018, CS:GO has been smashing concurrent player records by the dozens. Although there are those claiming that the game is dead, the truth is far from it.
In fact, it’s the other way around. CS:GO has never been more popular, especially with all the CSGO skins trading going on. Even though the competition is fierce, Valve continues pushing updates more frequently, making changes on the go. Despite the fact that this game is now more than eight years old, it still holds up fantastically.
The latest updates to the game
The latest update to the game was Operation Broken Fang. It was launched on December 3, 2020, and is supposed to run until April 30, 2021. The update brought new maps, missions, and modes, but the biggest and most interesting change is a Competitive alternative mode.
All pass holders have access to this new mode called Broken Fang Premier. Similar to professional tournaments, this new mode allows players to ban and pick maps before the match starts. There is also the Operation Pass that will enable players to check detailed stats from their games.
The stats cover heatmaps to analyze your shooting, accuracy and where you usually land shots on your enemies, your performance on each map, and the K/D category. The latest update also saw a popular custom server game mode, Retakes, as an official game mode.
The upcoming updates
It’s impossible to tell when the CS:GO’s next big update will take place. Since the new Operation is still keeping the gamers happy, there will probably be smaller map updates and improvements to the game mechanics for the upcoming year.
The majority of patches released so far included map adjustments. However, it’s time for a new map revamp so we can probably expect that to happen in the near future. Over the last few years, Inferno, Dust 2, Nuke, and Cache have all seen major reworks.
According to the gaming community, players are increasingly interested in getting the Active Duty map pool reintroduced and getting Cobblestone to be refreshed. Mirage is also high on the list of priorities. There are also plans to see CS:GO ported to the Source 2 engine, although there isn’t enough information from the developers to support such claims.
Upcoming tournaments in 2021
At the moment, these are the current map pools:
● Competitive – Office, Agency, Cache, Anubis, Dust 2, Train, Nuke, Vertigo, Overpass, Inferno, Mirage.
● Scrimmage – Apollo, Engage, Ancient.
In case you missed IEM Katowice, an online tournament, the next one is EPL: Season 13 Malta that ends on April 11th. Here is a preview of the upcoming events to keep an eye on:
● DreamHack Masters Spring (29 Apr-9 May)
● IEM Summer (3-13 Jun)
● ESL One Cologne (6-18 July)
● EPL: Season 14 Malta (8 Sep – 10 Oct)
● IEM Fall (14-24 Oct)
● IEM Winter (2-12 Dec)
What does the community think?
When you have a game as popular as CS:GO, it’s hard to do everything right and keep everyone satisfied. There is always something to fix. At the moment, players seem to be quite happy with the game.
There are no glitches or serious issues, as well as game-breaking bugs. CS:GO has a vast community, and they frequently put the community through major changes. One of the changes that the community wasn’t happy about in particular was the decision to ban bots from Wingman and Competitive modes.
While Valve did it to improve the gameplay and filter out cheaters and trolls, loyal players weren’t happy about it. However, with updates coming out this year, these issues could be addressed to the players’ benefit.
The biggest criticism falls on Valve’s matchmaking, but according to players, it seems that Valve split the player base between the Premier Option and CS:GO regular Competitive mode to make the game more challenging.
Valve’s plans for the future
If the launch of Broken Fang is any indication, Valve has bright plans for the future. We can probably expect to see an update by the end of the year. Many players hope that Valve will finally introduce 128 tick servers this year, but that is a bit far-fetched.
Despite the fact that there are players already playing CS:GO on 128 tick servers using paid services like FACEIT and ESEA, there is no official confirmation from Valve. There was a tease in the Autumn Harvest map co-op mission saying that the game might make its way to 128 tick servers, but that was only a hint.
Conclusion
If you’ve never played CS:GO before, we know that it looks all scary and intimidating, keeping you away from jumping into a map you don’t know anything about, but that’s exactly what this game is all about.
The best thing about this game is that you can set your own pace and advance according to what you see as comfortable. You can also communicate with other, more experienced players and receive a lot of useful advice on how to start working your way up. Give CS:GO a chance and discover how great this game really is.