Beginning of the End for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive?

2020 has been a successful year for video games in general, but Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has seen a surprising decline. The competitive scene in one of the finest FPS has been on the decline for a few months now. The ongoing pandemic only added fuel to fire as the tournaments witnessed an unprecedented shift. Not just that, the arrival of Valorant, too, hurt CS: GO a lot.

True, Valorant increased the competition it had in the Esports competitive scene, but it also saw several CS: GO pros make a switch to the Riot Games shooter.

While the community was still recovering from this setback, the ‘coach bug’ scandal made headlines. Several coaches from renowned teams like MiBR, Hard Legion, mousesports, faced repercussions.

The players were holding on to straws when eminent teams from the NA region announced their departure. Teams like 100 Thieves, and more recently Chaos, left the competitive scene to look for greener pastures.

Another piece of information has just surfaced that has utterly disappointed the community. According to a recent report by a Reddit user ImThour, CS: GO has lost over 200 professionals in the last year. This number includes pros from different regions and tiers and also includes 60 noteworthy names.

The number of players that have bid farewell to the Valve shooter is higher than the past 5 years combined.

Over 200 pros bid a farewell to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in 2020

The following is a list of players who left the competitive scene, leaving the community in a state of dismay.

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Like many other titles, CS: GO, too, is plagued by cheaters to a degree. But Valve’s response arrived at a snail’s pace and was rather underwhelming. Valorant, on the other hand, introduced Vanguard to prevent it from becoming an issue in the first place.

Its mechanism is pretty simple and has more or less achieved the target it set out to achieve. This served as yet another reason pros made the move to Valorant.

The start of the year also saw a rise in match-fixing scandals, causing a stain on CS: GO’s competitive integrity. Many popular names surfaced in association with these scandals and left the community in a state of despair.

Let’s consider the NA and Europe divide again. 100 Thieves CEO Nadeshot revealed that the competition in the NA region had become rather disappointing after the pandemic struck. The teams also haven’t been able to compete with teams in Europe, leaving the players with little or no exposure.

A lack of tournaments also means no income for the players. Unsurprisingly, many pros found solace in Valorant as the Riot Games shooter has seen heavy investment from across the world.

Many professionals are of the view that Valve has lost its creative ability and is taking its position for granted. Will Valve be able to revive CS: GO and regain its crown? Stay tuned to find out!