How to play CSGO in 2023 - All you need to know

On the last possible day of Summer 2023, 27th September, Valve finally released Counter-Strike 2 based on the second rendition of the Source Engine. With the launch of Counter-Strike 2, Valve chose to shut down CSGO. CS2 came as an update for CS:GO and not a new version, which meant only one version of the game will run at a time.

This approach from Valve is unusual to say the least, previously, CSGO, CS:Source and CS1.6 have been running together for a while. Ultimately, it means, the official servers for CSGO are shut down and the matchmaking services are unavailable.

For the enjoyers of the game though, Valve has added a legacy version of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This version will get updates and support until January 1, 2024. You can continue playing it but there won't be a steam support team for complaints, bug fixes and such.

There still won’t be any official matchmaking servers, but players can use the legacy CSGO version to access the community surfing servers and other warmup servers.

To access the Legacy version of CSGO, follow the steps:

1. Go to your Steam Games Library
2. Right click on Counter-Strike 2 and go to properties.
3. Under the Betas tab, in Beta Participation, search for csgo_legacy Legacy version of CS:GO.
   

   Accessing the Legacy version of CS:GO via Library > CS2 > Properties > Betas (credits: Screenshot via Steam // Valve)
4. Once you select the beta, the download for csgo_legacy will start, once finished you can select the Legacy version via the launcher.

There is an instructional 3kliksphilip video which show a step by step guide for the game.

With the legacy version, Valve has also renounced the support for 32bit systems, MacOS and DirectX 9. You can read more about it here. These steps taken by Valve are to continue CS2 development and concentrate on making the game better and not worry about supporting older systems. Fortunately, the legacy version of the game can help soothe the nostalgia and allow players to continue enjoying smurf maps until the transition to CS2.

Follow Strafe for all the major Counter-Strike 2 updates.

Featured Image Credits: Valve

Read More: Valve Ends Support for CS2 on MacOS and Other Devices