The Game Census
Counter-Strike cover art

Counter-Strike

Valve · 2000-11-01

Steam

Action

Franchise: Half-Life · Modes: Multiplayer

Releases: Nov 09, 2000 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Feb 14, 2013 (Mac), Feb 14, 2013 (Linux)

Play the world's number 1 online action game. Engage in an incredibly realistic brand of terrorist warfare in this wildly popular team-based game. Ally with teammates to complete strategic missions. Take out enemy sites. Rescue hostages. Your role affects your team's success. Your team's success affects your role.

6,715
playing now
97%
positive of 261k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
steam rating
10,000,000–20,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
54
twitch viewers (latest)
70/100
critic score (2 outlets, IGDB)
83/100
IGDB user rating (764 ratings)
15h
to beat · rushed 9h · completionist 761h
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$9.99
steam price (US)

6,715 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 00:00 UTC (census sample)

Counter-Strike is a 2000 tactical first-person shooter game developed by Valve Corporation and published by Sierra Studios. It is the first installment in the Counter-Strike series.

Trailer

Counter-Strike trailer thumbnail

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Trailer

≈1,000,000 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Healthy
  • · 6,715 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 7,463 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~933/week).
  • · Review velocity down 2% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 1% of 10,710 Action games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-29

Estimated sales: 10M–21M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 261,485 total reviews — how this is computed.

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
4.5k4.5k20182026Week of 2018-01-01: 1,324 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 65 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 1,109 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 44 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 811 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 45 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 587 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 30 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 683 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 34 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 1,104 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 69 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 1,019 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 60 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 651 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 30 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 465 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 454 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 2,875 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 61 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 1,086 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 61 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 883 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 58 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 790 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 44 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 560 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 458 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 549 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 2,815 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 78 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 2,794 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 73 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 445 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 366 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 684 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 3,609 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 84 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 2,806 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 80 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 1,960 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 1,390 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 61 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 1,929 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 58 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 2,215 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 60 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 1,857 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 53 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 1,767 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 65 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 1,863 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 68 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 1,428 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 63 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 1,089 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 39 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 1,167 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 32 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 2,734 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 52 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 2,115 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 61 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 1,909 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 61 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 1,265 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 1,399 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 44 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 1,243 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 38 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 1,283 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 48 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 1,494 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 68 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 1,678 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 56 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 1,159 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 55 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 1,058 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 1,018 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 37 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 4,491 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 77 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 1,663 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 50 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 1,601 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 58 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 1,249 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 46 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 1,048 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 42 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 898 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 829 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 42 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 1,028 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 1,249 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 58 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 958 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 39 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 813 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 830 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 38 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 4,234 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 81 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 1,700 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 62 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 1,606 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 56 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 1,086 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 36 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 1,626 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 43 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 1,135 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 48 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 1,013 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 42 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 930 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 32 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 1,524 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 54 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 981 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 47 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 1,362 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 56 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 1,371 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 54 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 3,680 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 129 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 1,346 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 66 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 1,273 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 59 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 1,031 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 36 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 1,308 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 59 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 989 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 46 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 879 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 37 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 954 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 52 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 1,436 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 71 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 959 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 45 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 823 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 37 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 880 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 2,109 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 60 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 1,568 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 72 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 1,275 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 49 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 977 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 47 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 1,234 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 51 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 811 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 765 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 35 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 842 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 42 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 925 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 37 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 769 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 697 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 39 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 1,005 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 46 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 1,538 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 43 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 1,062 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 45 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 1,090 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 55 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 866 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 1,111 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 52 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 802 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 703 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 694 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 35 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 808 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 42 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 582 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 34 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

12k3.5k2026-08-06 21:00 — 8,623 players2026-08-07 05:00 — 4,664 players2026-08-07 13:00 — 9,292 players2026-08-07 21:00 — 9,860 players2026-08-08 05:00 — 5,830 players2026-08-08 13:00 — 9,755 players2026-08-08 21:00 — 10,479 players2026-08-09 05:00 — 6,020 players2026-08-09 13:00 — 10,788 players2026-08-09 21:00 — 9,525 players2026-08-10 05:00 — 4,759 players2026-08-10 13:00 — 9,370 players2026-08-10 21:00 — 8,520 players2026-08-11 05:00 — 4,616 players2026-08-11 13:00 — 9,536 players2026-08-12 21:00 — 8,671 players2026-08-14 04:00 — 4,885 players2026-08-15 12:00 — 8,923 players2026-08-16 20:00 — 11,128 players2026-08-18 03:00 — 5,498 players2026-08-19 11:00 — 7,517 players2026-08-20 18:00 — 11,366 players2026-08-22 02:00 — 6,565 players2026-08-23 09:00 — 8,183 players2026-08-24 17:00 — 11,703 players2026-08-26 01:00 — 4,990 players2026-08-27 09:00 — 6,317 players2026-08-28 17:00 — 11,290 players2026-08-30 00:00 — 6,715 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$14.99$0.992015-01-012021-01-052015-01-01 — best price $3.742015-01-03 — best price $9.992015-03-16 — best price $14.992015-06-11 — best price $7.492015-06-23 — best price $9.992015-07-12 — best price $9.992015-07-23 — best price $9.992015-12-01 — best price $9.992016-01-04 — best price $9.992016-02-12 — best price $9.992016-03-25 — best price $9.992016-04-01 — best price $9.992016-10-23 — best price $9.992018-07-05 — best price $9.992018-11-27 — best price $9.992019-01-03 — best price $9.992019-02-11 — best price $9.992019-07-09 — best price $9.992019-12-03 — best price $9.992020-01-02 — best price $9.992020-07-09 — best price $9.992020-12-01 — best price $9.992021-01-05 — best price $9.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

9283782026-05-31 — 483 pageviews2026-06-03 — 478 pageviews2026-06-06 — 431 pageviews2026-06-09 — 484 pageviews2026-06-12 — 448 pageviews2026-06-15 — 397 pageviews2026-06-18 — 480 pageviews2026-06-21 — 541 pageviews2026-06-24 — 570 pageviews2026-06-27 — 479 pageviews2026-06-30 — 458 pageviews2026-07-03 — 458 pageviews2026-07-06 — 458 pageviews2026-07-09 — 508 pageviews2026-07-12 — 451 pageviews2026-07-15 — 464 pageviews2026-07-18 — 466 pageviews2026-07-21 — 437 pageviews2026-07-24 — 447 pageviews2026-07-27 — 477 pageviews2026-07-30 — 519 pageviews2026-08-02 — 433 pageviews2026-08-05 — 451 pageviews2026-08-08 — 486 pageviews2026-08-11 — 497 pageviews2026-08-14 — 413 pageviews2026-08-17 — 494 pageviews2026-08-20 — 459 pageviews2026-08-23 — 557 pageviews2026-08-26 — 678 pageviews2026-08-28 — 470 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Twitch viewers

309k542026-08-16 16:12 — 85,979 viewers2026-08-17 04:12 — 16,974 viewers2026-08-17 16:12 — 47,108 viewers2026-08-18 04:12 — 15,822 viewers2026-08-18 16:12 — 45,424 viewers2026-08-19 04:12 — 28,727 viewers2026-08-19 16:12 — 193,025 viewers2026-08-20 04:12 — 17,026 viewers2026-08-20 16:12 — 84,452 viewers2026-08-21 04:12 — 25,218 viewers2026-08-21 16:12 — 140,789 viewers2026-08-22 04:12 — 15,965 viewers2026-08-22 16:12 — 169,446 viewers2026-08-23 04:12 — 13,350 viewers2026-08-23 16:12 — 309,476 viewers2026-08-24 04:12 — 8,135 viewers2026-08-24 16:12 — 31,364 viewers2026-08-25 04:12 — 14,170 viewers2026-08-25 16:12 — 36,171 viewers2026-08-26 04:12 — 20,354 viewers2026-08-26 16:12 — 148,688 viewers2026-08-27 04:12 — 13,225 viewers2026-08-27 16:12 — 131,973 viewers2026-08-28 04:12 — 14,182 viewers2026-08-28 16:12 — 154,806 viewers2026-08-29 02:12 — 12,862 viewers2026-08-29 08:12 — 13,413 viewers2026-08-29 14:12 — 144,472 viewers2026-08-29 20:12 — 28,253 viewers2026-08-30 02:12 — 9,625 viewers2026-08-30 08:12 — 18,440 viewers2026-08-30 14:12 — 94,203 viewers2026-08-30 15:34 — 54 viewers
Hourly Twitch viewers (census snapshots).

Details

WindowsmacOSLinuxMulti-playerPvPOnline PvPShared/Split Screen PvPColor AlternativesCustom Volume ControlsKeyboard Only OptionStereo SoundValve Anti-Cheat enabledFamily Sharing

7 supported languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish - Spain, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

FPSPvP1990'sActionClassicShooterMilitaryStrategyTacticale-sports

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Half-LifeCounter-Strike: Condition ZeroCall of Duty® (2003)Call of Duty® 2Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare® (2007)Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon®Rogue Warrior

Similarity via IGDB.

Official site ↗Wikipedia ↗