In any case, even though the Finnish newspaper's de_voyna map was launched in line with World Press Freedom Day to reach the millions of Russians playing Counter-Strike , it's worth noting that Valve wasn't consulted prior to the community-made map going online. So it will be interesting to see how long the downloadable map will remain online, should the company take any act

Another contentious change in the latest patch is the removal of the ability to highlight weapons during competitive matches using "pings." Twitter user unhappy_an suggests this alleviates a concern in which players could use discarded weapons to track when opponents are in a given locale, but at the same time it removes functionality for online matchmaking teams that want to tell allies where they can pick up suppl

Even though S1mple draws impressive viewership numbers, no Twitch celebrity is above the law of the platform's community guidelines. Twitch famously banned the streaming mega-star, Dr. Disrespect , after controversial violations. That said, S1mple seems bothered more by the hypocrisy in his most recent ban, offering an explanation on Twit

There have been mixed responses to this change in the comments of a post by CS:GO 's Twitter account, and on the r/csgo subreddit. Many decry the change for giving teams that inadvertently lose members from disconnects or those that kick potentially "toxic" individuals a more substantial disadvantage. Others suggest players have abused the bot system by kicking out other users they deem to be less useful on the battlefield, but even then many feel there was likely a better solut

Players who would like to participate in the Competitive playlist in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will first have to play unranked matches of Arms Race, Casual, Deathmatch, or Demolition until reaching level two. Then, they will be placed in one of several ranks to climb the competitive ladder. This guide will help players identify how many ranks there are in total and how the ranking system works in CS:

There are 18 ranks split among six tiers: Silver, Gold Nova, Guardian, Eagle, Supreme Master First Class, and Global Elite . Players receiving a rank for the first time after the introductory period can only be placed in the first four tiers, while Supreme Master First Class and Global Elite have to be earned after the initial placement. Here is the full list of all 18 ranks in order of lowest to highest r

According to Valve, the game uses a modified Glicko-2 ranking system that gives players a hidden matchmaking rating (MMR) depending on their performance during a match. A string of bad performances will bring players to a lower rank while winning matches and becoming MVP of the match multiple times will increase the chance of going up a r

New players to the Competitive playlist will first have to win 10 games before they get ranked. This will place them in one of the ranks listed above, and many will most likely skip the first couple of low ra

At time of writing, no duration has been provided for S1mple's ban. As with all Twitch bans, visiting the Counter-Strike 2 Patch Notes|Https://Counterstrike2Zone.Com/: Global Offensive streamer's page currently displays the message "Sorry. Unless you've got a time machine, that content is unavailab

While this policy update may not have direct consequences for players, it may indicate Steam’s decision to take a better look at the websites offering the option to use in-game skins to gamble. Players engaging in this kind of activity could face sanctions from Steam, especially as Valve is both the owner of this platform and the publisher of all Counter-Strike games . In the announcement published by Steam alongside this guidelines update, Valve stated that it was simply meant to provide more information on the regulations already in place on the platf

Steam updated its guidelines for users to add more restrictions regarding online gambling, leaving the future of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skin gambling uncertain a few months before the release of its highly anticipated sequel Counter-Strike 2 . These guidelines, gathered under the name "Steam Online Conduct," describes the activities Steam users cannot perform on Valve’s platform, such as posting illegal or inappropriate content, engaging in unlawful activities, or harassing other users. The update to this policy impacts Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players, who are now unsure of the future of their skin gambling activit

Oleksandr ‘S1mple’ Kostyliev, arguably one of the best CS:GO players in the world, was banned on October 30 for saying a Russian slur. The leading player of Natus Vincere's CS:GO squad, S1mple has been banned for aggressive behavior and the use of slurs before, as recently as July 30. Some fans are concerned that S1mple's fourth strike-out will put him at risk of incurring a permanent

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most competitive games in the world, as the first-person multiplayer shooter relies on fast reflexes and solid team tactics in order to win. Players have continued to improve their skills in competitive matches as the game has supported ranked matches for a dec