Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike screenshot 1Counter-Strike screenshot 2
ActionFPSMultiplayerShooterClassicTeam-Based

5,999 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 13,592

Peak in the last 7 days: 14,034

Counter-Strike Steam store

Game description

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.

Basic info

DeveloperValve
PublisherValve
PlatformsWindows · macOS · Linux
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateNov 1, 2000
Price

Minimum specs

OSWindows XP
Processor500 mhz processor
Memory96 MB
Graphics16mb video card
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 309 reviews from the past 1 year

90.7/ 100
Top 20%

Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive (97%)

Metacritic: 88 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 20, 2026)

Decades on, this classic team shooter scores 90.7 from 309 reviews, top 20% of the games we analyzed.

👍 Strengths

172 reviews call Counter-Strike engaging and timeless, and some feel nostalgic for the early days of online play. 24 cherish playing together with friends and family, and the most upvoted remembers playing alongside their father. Multiplayer ranks 254th of 642. 23 praise how the controls feel, with crisp movement, precise gunplay and a high skill ceiling, and Gameplay ranks 19th of 1396. Some say the rounds stay intense and that practice is rewarded over time.

👎 Where it falls short

25 reviews complain about the community today, with some describing toxic players, abusive admins and servers full of cheaters, and others noting that old players have left. 19 find the visuals dated, and Visuals & Sound ranks 1192nd of 1249. 11 mention server trouble, such as spam, high latency and servers that are hard to find without outside sites. Tech & Support ranks 227th of 1399, and Pricing & Fairness ranks 314th of 1399.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“engaging, memorable experience, psychological depth” · 172 reviews
“playing together with father was amazing and memorable” · 24 reviews
“limitless skill ceiling with strafing, bunny hopping, recoil control, grenade lineups” · 16 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 33% of reviews · Top 5% of the games we've analyzed

Strategy +4.24 · Depth of builds, tactics, and meaningful choices
Positive “limitless skill ceiling with strafing, bunny hopping, recoil control, grenade lineups” · 16 reviews

Progression 1% · Difficulty 4% · Onboarding 6% · Freedom 2% · Controls & feel 15%

Plot, characters and the world

Not enough data — only 7% of reviews mention this.

World +3.86 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is

Story 0% · Characters 0%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value

Not enough data — only 9% of reviews mention this.

Volume +2.06 · How much there is to play, including endgame, for the price

Variety 3% · Replayability 2%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 19% of reviews · Bottom 5% of the games we've analyzed

Audio +2.16 · Music, sound effects, and voice acting
Positive “audio design is excellent with eargasm-quality sound” · 4 reviews
Negative “graphics and sound effects caused headaches” · 1 review

Visuals 16%

Playing with others, the community and servers
Mentioned in 48% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

Playing together +3.97 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals
Positive “playing together with father was amazing and memorable” · 24 reviews
Negative “forced to play with bots due to lack of friends with game” · 2 reviews

Community 30% · Servers & Connection 4%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 20% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

Pricing +0.12 · Whether the price, DLC and microtransactions are reasonable, and how much paying gives you an edge
Positive “no skins, battle passes, or unnecessary mechanics” · 4 reviews
Negative “CS2 became weapon skins game instead of honest shooter” · 6 reviews

Anti-cheat 6% · Balance 6% · Matchmaking 2%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 14% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Performance +0.23 · Frame rate, optimization, and loading times
Positive “runs smoothly even on basic PCs” · 2 reviews
Negative “fps drops when pressing esc and server issues” · 5 reviews

Stability 1% · Developer support 5%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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