CS2 players starting to worry as Valve remains silent and updates slow down
ValveCounter-Strike 2 is now over 100 days old, and Valve has officially ended support for its predecessor, CS:GO. But, as 2024 settles in and the first CS2 Major approaches, there is growing concern about the state of the game.
CS2 was one of the most anticipated releases of 2023, as CS:GO has long been Steam’s most popular game, a fresh version of the iconic FPS seemed like the exact thing everyone was waiting for.
But, months after the release, that feeling has certainly soured. Constant complaints about cheaters, lack of new content, missing modes from CS:GO, and subjective feelings around lack of polish, have led to a mostly negative reception to CS2.
And, as the weeks and months go on without anything concrete from Valve to address these concerns, the player base is now becoming increasingly concerned.
Counter-Strike 2 players running out of patience
Valve’s generally low-key approach to marketing and updates is nothing new, but with the splash many expected CS2 to make, there is no doubt it hasn’t lived up to the hype – yet.
Hope continues to exist, but as each week passes with no or only minor updates to the game, the wait for the elusive ‘big update’ everyone expects becomes more strenuous.
On January 15, the top post on the main Counter-Strike subreddit is entitled, “Valve give us an update.”
“I can’t comprehend the fact that it’s 2024 mid-January and we still haven’t received a meaningful update that would make me still invested in this game,” the player said.
“No new case, no new map, not a [single] piece of new content.”
They continued, “Looks like the game is going downhill. And stop comparing it to CSGO release, it’s not the same – CSGO was fresh, CS2 at this point just looks like a reskin and should have been more polished and filled with content.”
Many other players were quick to agree. “I think the most frustrating thing for me is that Valve went back to zero communication,” one said. “Why can’t they release a roadmap or anything else that at least shows where this game is going? I know about Valve time etc and game-breaking bugs that can’t be predicted but still a rough idea what updates are planned would be nice.”
However, some did give Valve the benefit of the doubt, suggesting that they may be putting off any big updates due to the professional tournament schedule, with IEM Katowice beginning at the start of February.
But, others pointed out that this should be even more impetus for faster updates, particularly to fix the outstanding bugs and glitches that still crop up.
For now, CS2’s player count remains steady, and it’s still by far Steam’s top game, but it’s still far lower than it was before the switch from CS:GO. If and when future updates can spark a recovery remains to be seen.
