CS:GO Is Back on Steam and Thousands Are Already Playing It
- Sagar Mankar
- 9 minutes ago
- 2 min read
CS:GO has officially returned to Steam with its own standalone store page, though the game comes with some notable limitations.
Valve quietly brought back Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Steam after the game lost its dedicated store page when Counter-Strike 2 launched in 2023.
That said, do not expect a full revival just yet. The game currently has no official matchmaking support, which means you cannot queue up for ranked matches the way you once could. The servers have not been resurrected alongside the store page return. What players can do, however, is hop into Steam's server browser and join community servers to play with others online.
How to Install & Play:
Head to the Steam store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4465480/CounterStrike_Global_Offensive/ (it's unlisted, so direct link only—no searching).
Add to Library (free) and Install (~20-30 GB). It installs alongside CS2—no conflicts.
Launch CS:GO:
Offline: Play vs bots—feels just like the old days.
Online: No official Valve matchmaking or servers, but tons of community servers are live. Go to View > Game Servers in Steam (or in-game server browser), filter for "CounterStrike_Global_Offensive", and jump in. Surf, KZ, retakes, casual—everything's popping off.
The comeback has already made a big impact. At the time of reporting, CS:GO had attracted over 65,000 concurrent players, which is genuinely impressive for a game that is now 14 years old.
As for esports, Valve has confirmed that it will not be granting licenses for tournament organizers to run CS:GO esports events. So while casual players can enjoy the game again, the competitive esports scene around CS:GO will not be making a comeback through official Valve-backed channels. Counter-Strike 2 remains the platform of choice for professional competition.