Counter-Strike 2
GameBy Valve · Released Sep 27, 2023
Documents about Counter-Strike 2
Counter-Strike 2 Confirmed for Esports World Cup 2025
The Esports World Cup Foundation has officially confirmed that Counter-Strike 2 will return as a featured competitive title for the 2025 Esports World Cup.
- Counter-Strike 2 has been officially confirmed as a competitive title for the 2025 Esports World Cup, which will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the summer.
- The Esports World Cup is an eight-week competition funded by the Saudi Government’s Public Investment Fund and facilitated by the ESL FACEIT Group.
- Other confirmed titles for the 2025 event include Rainbow Six Siege, Dota 2, Street Fighter 6, Free Fire, Honor of Kings, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Call of Duty: Warzone.
M80 Acquires Beastcoast
North American esports organization M80 has acquired the esports entity Beastcoast for an undisclosed sum.
- M80 has acquired esports organization Beastcoast for an undisclosed amount, integrating its teams and media business into M80's existing operations.
- Beastcoast CEO Grant Zinn will join M80 as Chief Business Development Officer to support expansion into South America and titles like Pokémon.
- The acquisition includes Beastcoast’s Dota 2 team and a media business that generates 175 million annual views across social and content platforms.
GRID Expands BLAST Partnership to Include Counter-Strike 2 Data
GRID Esports and tournament organizer BLAST have entered into an expanded, multi-year partnership to integrate Counter-Strike 2 tournament data into the GRID Data Platform.
- GRID Esports and tournament organizer BLAST have signed a multi-year, exclusive data partnership to integrate Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 tournament data into the GRID Data Platform.
- The expanded agreement, which officially commences in November 2024, grants GRID exclusive rights to distribute BLAST’s tournament data to its partners and provide data monetization services.
- Beyond data distribution, the partnership involves the joint development of data-driven products and the implementation of integrity solutions using advanced data technologies.
Factorio and its DLC Break Into Top 5 Highest-Grossing Games on Steam
The gaming industry landscape on Steam for the week of October 22–29, 2024, was defined by the strong performance of major new releases and the resurgence of established titles.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was the top-grossing product on Steam for the week of October 22–29, 2024, dethroning Counter-Strike 2.
- Factorio and its new Space Age DLC secured the second and third spots respectively among premium titles, with the DLC selling over 400,000 copies in its first four days.
- The success of the Space Age expansion helped the base game, Factorio, reach a peak of over 118,000 concurrent players.
ESL FACEIT Group Lays Out ESL Pro Tour Roadmap for 2025
The ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has unveiled its strategic roadmap for the 2025 Counter-Strike 2 ESL Pro Tour (EPT), signaling a significant financial commitment to the game’s competitive ecosystem.
- ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) will invest $22 million USD into its Counter-Strike 2 ecosystem across 2025 and 2026, representing an annual commitment of $11 million.
- The 2025 ESL Pro Tour (EPT) schedule features two championship events, IEM Katowice (Jan 29–Feb 9) and IEM Cologne (July 23–Aug 3), alongside five Masters-level competitions.
- In compliance with Valve’s regulations, the 2025 EPT circuit will implement an open slot system, allowing semi-pro and professional teams to compete via regional qualifiers.
Bleed Esports Counter-Strike 2 Players Revolt
Bleed Esports, a Singapore-based organization, is facing a public revolt from its Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) roster over significant financial grievances.
- Bleed Esports is facing a public revolt from its Counter-Strike 2 roster, with coach Aleksandar "Kassad" Trifunovic alleging the organization owes players and partners a total of $332,000 in unpaid salaries, prize money, and buyout fees.
- The outstanding debt includes $130,000 owed to Apeks, $42,000 to G2, $100,000 in unpaid prize money, and various individual player payments totaling over $60,000.
- While Bleed Esports claims that player salaries are paid through August with September payments in process, the roster has publicly disputed these claims, labeling the organization's management as dishonest.
Randy Hearst Harris Joins NIP Group Board
NIP Group, a publicly traded international esports organization, has appointed Randy Hearst Harris as an independent director to its board of directors, effective September 24, 2024.
- NIP Group (NASDAQ: NIPG) appointed Randy Hearst Harris as an independent director to its board of directors, effective September 24, 2024.
- Mario Ho, chairman and co-CEO of NIP Group, stated that Harris was selected to help guide the organization's global expansion and strategic growth.
- Randy Hearst Harris is the founder of the sports management company 3V and an investor with a portfolio spanning real estate, technology, and AI ventures.
Bleed Esports Removed From Valorant Champions Tour, VCT Pacific
Riot Games has officially removed the Southeast Asia-based organization Bleed Esports from the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) and VCT Pacific.
- Riot Games has removed Bleed Esports from the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) and VCT Pacific for failing to meet the requirements of the team participation agreement.
- Boom Esports has been selected to replace Bleed Esports in the VCT Pacific league.
- Bleed Esports has faced ongoing allegations of failing to pay players on time, with reports indicating that team members were notified of their removal only 30 minutes before the public announcement.
Esports World Cup: 120M Hours Watched
The Esports World Cup, held from July 3 to August 25, 2024, generated 120 million hours of watch time over its eight-week duration.
- The Esports World Cup (EWC) recorded 120 million hours watched over its eight-week competition period from July 3 to August 25, 2024.
- The EWC ranked as the fourth most-watched esports series of 2024, trailing the MLBB Professional League, LCK, and Valorant Champions Tour.
- League of Legends and Counter-Strike 2 accounted for more than 64% of the total 120 million hours watched.
The Inaugural Esports World Cup’s Live Streaming Performance
The inaugural Esports World Cup (EWC) established itself as a significant global event, successfully navigating competition with the Olympic Games to generate 103 million hours of watched content and a peak viewership of 2.8 million.
- The inaugural Esports World Cup generated 103 million hours watched and reached a peak viewership of 2.8 million, despite competing directly with the Olympics for two weeks.
- Co-streaming was a significant driver of engagement, accounting for 44% of the event's total viewership.
- MOBAs dominated the tournament landscape, generating 62.3 million hours watched and maintaining an average minute viewership (AMA) of 245,000, significantly outperforming Battle Royale and FPS genres.
PGL Acquires Matchmaking Assets of Esportal AB
PGL, an international esports tournament organizer, has acquired the matchmaking assets of the Sweden-based company Esportal AB.
- PGL has acquired the matchmaking assets of the Swedish company Esportal AB following the parent company's decision to file for bankruptcy in July 2024.
- The acquisition is limited to the Esportal matchmaking platform for Counter-Strike and Dota 2, excluding other business units such as the Inferno Online Group gaming centers.
- PGL plans to spend 3–4 months migrating, reorganizing, and potentially rebranding the platform to support its goal of creating a global, world-class matchmaking service.
PGL Details Counter-Strike 2 Ranked Competitions for 2025-2026
PGL has announced its competitive calendar for Counter-Strike 2 ranked tournaments spanning 2025 and 2026.
- PGL will invest over $17 million in the Counter-Strike 2 competitive scene across 10 ranked tournaments scheduled throughout 2025 and 2026.
- Each of the 10 tournaments will feature a $1.25 million prize pool, with the winner receiving $425,000.
- PGL is providing $450,000 in additional hospitality support per event to cover travel, accommodation, food, and practice facilities for participating teams.
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