Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) was officially released by Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment, marking the continuation of the popular Counter-Strike series with updated graphics, gameplay, and new content.
Valve released the Arms Deal update, introducing weapon skins (also known as skins or finishes) to CS:GO, enabling players to customize the appearance of their weapons and creating a marketplace economy within the game.
CS:GO was made free-to-play, and the new battle royale mode called Danger Zone was introduced to attract a wider audience and to stay competitive with other battle royale games.
CS:GO Majors started to reach prize pools over one million dollars, elevating the competitive esports scene significantly and increasing mainstream visibility for the game.