Blogs
on April 17, 2026
Skin gambling has been a regular activity for CS:GO fans , allowing them to bet on their cosmetics in hopes of winning better ones. Various platforms offer these services, with players placing bets on professional matches or joining lotteries using their in-game cosmetics as currency. Valve previously launched legal action against gambling sites that demanded access to the Steam API, automatically loading the users’ inventory to ease the betting process. However, since all CS:GO skin gambling websites don’t use this Steam API, players could still bet on their cosmetics if they wanted
In what appears to be bizarre effort to avoid oversight for its loot boxes, the developers of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive have added a controversial new feature. The new feature is exclusive to France, where lawmakers are currently evaluating new regulations regarding loot boxes and gambling in video games. The feature, in an extremely limited fashion, allows players to look inside of a loot box prior to spending money to unlock it. And Valve clearly believes it will help CS:GO avoid additional scrut
The era of CS:GO skin gambling may be coming to an end as Steam updated its Online Conduct policy to prevent users from engaging in this type of activity. More specifically, the latest update to this policy states that Steam users shall not engage in commercial activities such as running contests, buying or selling Steam accounts, posting advertisements, or gambling. This last element is the most crucial one for Counter-Strike players , as it explicitly states that the action of gambling skins is now frowned upon by St
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
However, this isn't the first time a Valve product or service was indirectly involved in the war efforts. It was recently reported that the Ukrainian military is using the Steam Deck to remotely control turrets . Here, the Steam Deck runs a custom UI that allows the operator to be up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) away from the turret. The custom version is reportedly capable of installing any anti-personnel or anti-tank weapon as w
In order to further contain CS:GO 's French marketplace, perhaps to avoid market manipulation through the use of X-Ray Scanners, Valve is making one additional change. Loot boxes can no longer be purchased from the Steam Community Market in France. All CS:GO players in the country will have to earn their own loot boxes. Though, naturally, Valve will still allow those players to sell their loot boxes to those in other countr
With March's huge reveal of Counter-Strike 2 , the hype has continued to build for the release of the sequel. Right now, many players are taking part in the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test, and gamers seeing their friends enjoy the new game has only made the wait more agonizing for many out there. Its increase in popularity has seen many streamers join in on the fun as of late, with case openings being a key part of that. In fact, streamer Dr Disrespect recently unboxed an incredibly rare knife in Counter-Strike: Counterstrike2zone.com Global Offensive , but it's nothing compared to what Trainwreck is looking to achi
It's currently unclear why Valve moved forward with these changes in France, in particular. So far France has not enacted any new regulations to account for loot boxes in video games, though French courts did recently rule that Steam has to allow users to resell their digital games . In 2018, the French online gambling regulatory body even assessed that loot boxes were not gambling under the country's current regulation. Perhaps Valve is using France as a testing bed or perhaps the decision is intended to shift discourse within the country or Europe. Either way, Valve certainly appears to be taking steps to protect the profits it receives from loot boxes amid the growing international controve
A new CS:GO patch details the removal of bots that would otherwise replace players who are disconnected or kicked out of "classic competitive and wingman modes." Whenever an entire team leaves any given match, they will now be replaced by a single bot that idles in the team's original spawn location. However, they still appear in Warmup arenas, as patch notes posted to the official Counter-Strike Blog outline a fix to bot navigation in this part of the g
While many have taken issue with the contents of this patch, it's unlikely to have a major effect on Valve's team-based shooter. CS:GO was one of the best-selling and most-played games on Steam in 2020 , though given the title is free-to-play "most-downloaded" may be a better descriptor. Either way, it should remain popular, even if multiple live tournaments have reportedly been cancelled due to the coronavirus pande