Counter-Strike 2
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CS2 player count: 1,274,983 on Steam on Oct. 23, still No. 1 but about 12% below last October
Counter-Strike 2 peaked at 1,274,983 concurrent players on Steam on Oct. 23, 2026, according to Valve's most played chart, which ranked it No. 1 for another week, with Dota 2 second at 987,282. At 3:59 a.m. ET on Oct. 24, 737,040 people were playing it. October's best day so far, 1,402,441 on Oct. 10, sits about 12% below the October 2025 peak of 1,588,091, and the average player count in September 2026 was 13% lower than a year earlier. The 2026 high is 1,717,624 in March, and the all-time record is 1,818,368, set in March 2025. CS2 runs only on Steam, so these numbers cover every player.
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Counter-Strike 2 still tops Steam by almost 300,000 players. Here’s how many people play it, how 2026 compares with the record year and what’s coming next.
How many people play CS2? Counter-Strike 2 peaked at 1,274,983 concurrent players on Steam on Oct. 23, 2026, according to Valve’s most played chart, which ranked it No. 1. At 3:59 a.m. ET on Oct. 24, 737,040 people were playing it.
CS2 runs only on Steam, on Windows and Linux, so Steam’s numbers cover the whole player base, unlike shooters that also sell on consoles or other launchers.
CS2 player count by month
| Period | Steam peak | Average players |
|---|---|---|
| March 2025 | 1,818,368 | 1,039,663 |
| October 2025 | 1,588,091 | 948,244 |
| March 2026 | 1,717,624 | 1,069,173 |
| August 2026 | 1,331,274 | 825,258 |
| September 2026 | 1,450,705 | 805,638 |
| Oct. 10, 2026 | 1,402,441 | Best day of October so far |
| Oct. 23, 2026 | 1,274,983 | No. 1 on Valve’s chart |
March 2025 holds the all-time record, and March 2026 came within 100,744 of it. After that, the monthly peak slid to a 2026 low of 1,331,274 in August. September’s average of 805,638 players at any moment sits 13% below September 2025’s 925,940.
What Valve changed this fall. Valve released the Rush Hour update on Sept. 22, adding Rush, a fast 3v3 queued mode fought through a gauntlet of randomly selected arenas, as our CS2 Rush mode page explains. The daily peak jumped from 1,222,526 on Sept. 22 to 1,450,705 on Sept. 23, the high for September. Smaller patches followed: on Oct. 8, Valve cut the AUG’s reload time by half a second, on Oct. 14 it improved the demo viewer, and on Oct. 22 it added hostage tools for map scripting.
How CS2 compares on Steam
| Game | Chart rank, Oct. 23 | Steam peak, Oct. 23 |
|---|---|---|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 1 | 1,274,983 |
| Dota 2 | 2 | 987,282 |
| PUBG: Battlegrounds | 3 | 809,926 |
| Deadlock | 5 | 233,703 |
| Apex Legends | 6 | 225,732 |
| Call of Duty | 7 | 198,308 |
CS2 drew 287,701 more players than Dota 2, Valve’s second biggest game, and more than five times Valve’s invite-only Deadlock. Only Dota 2 and PUBG: Battlegrounds also passed 800,000 that day, and with Dota 2 and Deadlock, Valve owns three of the top five games on Steam. Respawn’s battle royale sits at No. 6, as our Apex Legends player count page shows.
The PGL CS2 Major Singapore 2026 runs from Nov. 24 to Dec. 13, with a $1.25 million prize pool, 32 teams and the final four days at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The format and teams are on our CS2 Major Singapore 2026 page. Before that, PGL Masters Bucharest 2026 runs from Oct. 24 to 31, as our PGL Masters Bucharest schedule page details.
This page is updated as soon as Valve’s chart posts CS2’s Saturday and Sunday peaks or Valve ships its next major update.
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FAQ
How many people play CS2?
Counter-Strike 2 peaked at 1,274,983 concurrent players on Steam on Oct. 23, 2026, according to Valve’s most played chart, and 737,040 were playing at 3:59 a.m. ET on Oct. 24. CS2 runs only on Steam, so that covers every player.
What is CS2's all-time peak?
1,818,368 concurrent players on Steam in March 2025, the record for Steam app 730, which Counter-Strike 2 took over from CS:GO in September 2023.
Is CS2 dying?
CS2 is still the most played game on Steam by a wide margin, with almost 300,000 more players at its Oct. 23 peak than Dota 2. Its numbers run lower than in 2025: October’s best day so far sits about 12% below the October 2025 peak.
Is CS2 still the most played game on Steam?
Yes. Counter-Strike 2 ranked No. 1 on Valve’s most played chart for Oct. 23, 2026, ahead of Dota 2 at 987,282 and PUBG: Battlegrounds at 809,926.
What was CS2's player count in 2026?
The 2026 high is 1,717,624 in March. The monthly peak then slid to a 2026 low of 1,331,274 in August, recovered to 1,450,705 in September and reached 1,402,441 on Oct. 10.
How many people played CS2 in September 2026?
An average of 805,638 players were in the game at any moment in September 2026, down 13% from 925,940 in September 2025, with a peak of 1,450,705 on Sept. 23.
Did the Rush Hour update bring players back?
The September peak of 1,450,705 came on Sept. 23, the day after Valve released the Rush Hour update with the 3v3 Rush mode, up from 1,222,526 the day before.
Is CS2 free?
Counter-Strike 2 is free to play on Steam, and the optional Prime Status Upgrade costs $14.99.
When is the next CS2 Major?
The PGL CS2 Major Singapore 2026 runs from Nov. 24 to Dec. 13, with a $1.25 million prize pool and the final four days at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
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1 questions from this story.
What is Counter-Strike 2’s all-time Steam peak?
CS2 peaked at 1,818,368 players on Steam in March 2025, its all-time record.
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