5 Updates That Forever Changed Counter-Strike

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In Dota, major updates are released several times a year. In CS, things are different: big updates appear very rarely. We recalled 5 major CS updates that forever changed CS.

Matchmaking – The First Ranked Mode in CS 

Matchmaking was introduced in CS:GO on October 25, 2012. This was a very important update because before it, no version of the game had official CS modes – you had to play only on servers. Of course, for many, this was enough. But matchmaking added ranks – a visible goal to play for.

Interestingly, the ranking system has never been changed, and only Valve employees know how the rank promotion and demotion mechanism works. This is one of the problems with matchmaking. When a player hits the ceiling, that is, reaches Global Elite, the motivation to play drops slightly. Additionally, matchmaking has a 64-tick rate and sometimes encounters cheaters.

Nevertheless, matchmaking is a crucial part of modern CS. Many players launch the game just to play another match and achieve a new rank.

CS2 Ranks and Ratings System: Complete Guide

AWP Nerf Temporarily Broke the Game – KennyS Didn't Know What to Do 

Naturally, there have been many fixes for various guns in CS history. They are the main tools in the game, so it's no surprise that their characteristics are sometimes changed. Remember when the CZ used to shoot almost like an M4, or when the Deagle always killed with two body shots? Or the SG 553 nerf that pushed the AK out of the meta for almost a year?

The most significant weapon fix in CS history was the AWP changes in 2015. The developers significantly reduced the movement speed with the AWP while scoped. Running around the map and quickly retreating after making frags became much more difficult.

The top sniper among pro players at that time was KennyS. He even believed this update was specifically targeted against him.

Valve Fixed Hitboxes – Shooting in the Back Was Very Difficult Before 

In September 2015, a CS update was released in which Valve completely reworked the hitbox and animation system. Before this, they were not very realistic: the hitbox was smaller than the character. Killing an opponent from behind was very difficult: the game simply did not register hits.

The update fixed all hitbox issues, added climbing animations, and third-person weapon switch animations.

CS Became Free-to-Play – To Attract More Players and Filter Out Cheaters 

Until December 2018, CS was a paid game and cost $5.99. Later, Valve made the game free-to-play. It seemed like this decision would attract even more cheaters. In fact, this was done precisely to reduce the number of dishonest players.

CS has a Prime status – it is needed to play ranked matchmaking. New players were offered two ways to get Prime: reach level 21 (which takes quite a while) or pay $14.99. Of course, this didn't stop all cheaters. But some did think: why pay such money if you can get banned for using low-quality, possibly free cheats.

Adding Skins – The Major Update in CS

Now almost every CS2 player has skins: cheap or expensive, rare or popular. When Valve releases another case, the community generally reacts negatively. But the case is still opened, and the red guns, knives, or gloves from it are sold for crazy money.

Skins were the first in-game items in CS. Without them, there would be no stickers or player and team patches. Skins have greatly influenced the CS ecosystem: they used to be actively traded, and some even made fortunes from them. Skins are investments. Over time, cases drop less frequently, making the guns from them more expensive.

November 14, 2013 – the date of the Arms Deal update, which introduced the first skins into the game. There were 87 skins then, and now there are 3,500!

The First Skin in Counter-Strike History