Counter-Strike: Global Offensive received generally favorable critic reviews, while its Metacritic user score was more mixed. Steam’s current review totals belong to the Counter-Strike 2 listing, which includes a clear notice distinguishing legacy CS:GO reviews from reviews of the newer game.
What were the reviews for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive?
Metacritic lists an 83/100 Metascore from 38 critic reviews for the 2012 game, a generally favorable result. Its separate user score is 7.3/10 from 6,025 user ratings, which Metacritic classifies as mixed or average. These figures measure different audiences using different rating systems, so they should not be combined into a single consensus score. Metacritic’s figures were checked in 2026. Metacritic’s CS:GO page.
CS:GO launched on August 21, 2012. Metacritic lists PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 as platforms; that is historical platform metadata, not confirmation that the game is currently available or playable on each one.
What did critics praise—and criticize?
Review excerpts on Metacritic often frame CS:GO as a careful evolution of the established Counter-Strike formula rather than a reinvention. A Destructoid excerpt praises a “faithful, polished, and better looking Counter-Strike,” while also pointing to missing community features and beloved maps. Other review excerpts identify incremental change as a limitation and caution that the learning curve may discourage newcomers. These are examples of critical arguments, not claims that every reviewer agreed. Metacritic’s critic reviews.
#1 Best Overall
Why do Steam’s current CS:GO review figures look different?
Steam’s current store listing is for Counter-Strike 2, not a separate CS:GO review page. The listing describes CS2 as a free upgrade to CS:GO and states: “Reviews written before September 27, 2023 were for CS:GO, the legacy version of Counter-Strike 2.” That notice matters: the listing’s current aggregates include reviews associated with the CS2 page and are not a clean CS:GO-only user sample. Steam’s Counter-Strike 2 listing.
As checked on October 8, 2026, Steam displayed 85% positive from 2,627,880 English reviews and 78% positive from 77,976 recent reviews on that listing. These are time-sensitive CS2-page figures, not replacements for CS:GO’s Metacritic user score. Steam explains that a store page can show both a recent review score and a lifetime review score; totals and percentages can change over time. Steamworks documentation on user reviews.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is CS:GO still worth playing, or is CS2 the relevant choice?
The review evidence supports a limited, clear conclusion: critics generally liked CS:GO’s polished execution of a familiar competitive formula, while some found its changes incremental and its learning curve demanding. Whether the original game is still practically playable is a separate question. The sources here do not establish whether a standalone legacy CS:GO client or official CS:GO matchmaking is currently available, so the historical review scores cannot answer that availability question.
Quick Recap
For a comparison, keep the distinctions straight:
- Original CS:GO reception: Metacritic’s historical critic and user aggregates describe the 2012 game.
- Current Steam sentiment: Steam’s current review totals are attached to the Counter-Strike 2 listing, with pre-September 27, 2023 reviews identified as CS:GO legacy reviews.
- Platform history versus present access: Metacritic’s PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 entries document historical platform metadata, not present-day availability.
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