So we are a little late on this one, but better late than never, right?
Recently, before Christmas, CS:GO released one of their biggest updates ever – the Danger Zone update!
With the update, a completely new game mode (at least in Counter-Strike) was released. Maybe more important, the game was also made free to play.
CS:GO Free to Play
Now, let’s start by digging into the free to play part – CS:GO, free to play? Wouldn’t that just mean a bunch of hackers in CS:GO? Not necessarily. Valve has been working hard on an overhaul of their cheat detection and anti-cheat system, preventing hackers with machine learning algorithms and deep learning. This is called VACnet and they should reportedly have more than 4,000 CPU’s running in the effort to catch cheaters and hackers. This is probably why they feel comfortable enough to make the game free, making it easy for hackers that get caught and banned to just create new accounts. Another measure against just creating new accounts is the Prime system. Previously, when you had to buy CS:GO, the only way to acquire prime was to reach a certain rank by gaining experience and then linking your phone number to your account. When they made the game free to play, they changed the way the Prime account system worked. Now, all who previously bought the game will have the status of Prime. If new users want to gain Prime status, they will have to purchase it as well.
When Prime accounts play competitive matchmaking, they are matched against other Prime accounts, making it more unlikely to match against hackers, since they would not risk getting their Prime accounts banned over a throwaway free account. A downside to this, is that people who just started to play the game (in free to play), will probably have to deal with the hackers instead, giving them a bad first time experience.
Danger Zone – New Game Mode
The next big news, maybe the biggest, is the new game mode introduced in CS:GO. It might not be a big surprise given the huge popularity of games like PUBG (PlayerUnknowns Battleground) and Fortnite, that a Battle Royale mode was coming to CS:GO. Nevertheless, few had expected it at that time. It is a welcoming surprise, however, and will hopefully bring some people back to CS:GO that left for other games. Compared to PUBG, it is however fairly different. The maps are much smaller and you compete against fewer players and the there are many different mechanics not in PUBG. For example, you can find cash around the map, that you can use to order items that will be delivered by a drone.
What do you think about the game becoming free to play? And what is your experience with the new game mode, do you like it, why and why not? Leave a comment below and let us know!
