Counter-Strike 2
Documents about Counter-Strike 2
ESL FACEIT Group Renews ZOWIE Partnership for Counter-Strike 2 Events
ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has extended its partnership with ZOWIE, the gaming monitor brand owned by BenQ, to serve as the official monitor supplier for its major Counter-Strike 2 tournaments through the end of 2027.
- ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has extended its partnership with BenQ-owned brand ZOWIE to remain the official monitor supplier for all major Counter-Strike 2 tournaments through the end of 2027.
- The agreement covers a global slate of events, including Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) tournaments in Cologne, China, Rio, Atlanta, and Krakow, as well as ESL Pro League Seasons 23 through 26.
- ZOWIE will supply its XL2586X+ 600Hz monitors for use across all covered tournament environments to ensure consistent high-performance hardware for professional players.
GRID Partners With Smilegate for Crossfire Esports Data
GRID, a specialized esports gaming data and betting technology platform, has entered into a partnership with South Korean game publisher Smilegate to manage the official match data infrastructure and distribution for the Crossfire esports ecosystem.
- GRID has partnered with South Korean publisher Smilegate to provide official match data infrastructure and distribution for the Crossfire esports ecosystem.
- The collaboration aims to enhance fan engagement, commercial growth, and player experiences by integrating GRID's technology to capture and distribute live official match data.
- Crossfire, a first-person shooter franchise released in 2007, reports over one billion lifetime registered players across more than 80 countries.
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 Recap: Team Vitality Dominates, Viewership Surges, and Non-Major Tournament Ranks Second
Team Vitality secured a commanding victory at the PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 tournament, clinching their second championship of the year without conceding a single map.
- Team Vitality won the PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 tournament without losing a single map, marking their second championship of the year.
- The event achieved a 63.5% increase in peak viewership compared to the 2025 iteration, ranking as the second most popular non-Major tournament in PGL history.
- PGL and the city of Cluj-Napoca have extended their hosting partnership through 2029, signaling a trend toward regional stabilization in the Counter-Strike 2 ecosystem.
Sticky Games: How To Retain Viewers on Live Streaming
The concept of "sticky games" refers to titles that maintain consistent, long-term viewership on live-streaming platforms, effectively retaining their audience despite the release of new competing products.
- Games with an esports presence or consistent live service updates are significantly more likely to maintain long-term viewership, as evidenced by titles like VALORANT and Counter-Strike 2 achieving 100% stickiness.
- High initial launch viewership does not guarantee long-term retention; for example, Diablo IV saw 41.4 million hours watched at launch but failed to maintain 1 million weekly hours in 61% of subsequent weeks.
- Sticky games are defined by their ability to sustain a consistent audience week-over-week, with top-tier titles maintaining over 1 million hours watched for nearly 100% of their post-release duration.
January 2026's Top-Selling New Steam Games Revealed
The primary objective is to analyze the performance of new video game releases on Steam during January 2026, while providing broader context on industry trends, console hardware, and platform discovery.
- The extraction shooter ARC Raiders led January 2026 Steam unit sales with 2.1 million copies, while Counter-Strike 2 remained the platform's top revenue generator.
- New Steam releases saw strong performance from Quarantine Zone: The Last Check (650,000+ units), StarRupture (500,000+ units), and LORT (250,000+ units).
- PlayStation 5 holiday sales reached 8.1 million units, outperforming the Switch 2 during the same period.
Most Popular Esports Tournaments of January 2026
The global esports landscape in January 2026 demonstrates a clear shift toward mobile-first dominance and influencer-led engagement.
- The M7 World Championship set new viewership benchmarks in January 2026, confirming the rapid expansion and dominance of mobile esports.
- Independent influencers have become the primary drivers of platform traffic, occupying four of the five most-watched Twitch channels during the month.
- English-language viewership is shifting toward a decentralized model, with personality-driven co-streaming fundamentally altering traditional broadcast consumption.
BLAST Opens Destination City Proposals for 2027, 2028
BLAST has officially initiated its host destination selection process for major live arena events scheduled for 2027 and 2028.
- BLAST has opened its host destination bidding process for 2027 and 2028, seeking cities to host major live arena events across titles including Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Fortnite, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, and Brawl Stars.
- Interested cities must register their interest by February 12, 2026, with final bid submission deadlines set for March 16, 2026, for 2027 events and July 3, 2026, for 2028 events.
- BLAST plans to produce 40 live arena events worldwide, building on a 2025 performance that saw 15 arena shows held across 10 countries and four continents.
Top Esports Games on Twitch 2025: CS2, LoL, Dota 2, Valorant
Counter-Strike 2 currently stands as the preeminent force in the global esports landscape, securing its position as the most-watched title on Twitch throughout 2025.
- Counter-Strike 2 is the most-watched esport on Twitch in 2025, generating 372.65 million hours of viewership.
- League of Legends ranks second in 2025 Twitch viewership with 307.17 million hours watched.
- Dota 2 maintains a significant market presence with 213.09 million hours of viewership recorded on Twitch.
First Details on Esports World Cup 2026
The Esports World Cup Foundation has released initial details regarding the 2026 Esports World Cup, a multi-week global competition scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 6 to August 23, 2026.
- The 2026 Esports World Cup will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 6 to August 23, featuring a total prize pool of $75 million USD.
- The event will host over 2,000 players and 200 clubs from more than 100 countries competing across 25 tournaments and 24 different game titles.
- The Club Championship prize pool has been increased to $30 million, with the winning club set to receive $7 million.
MadHouse TV to Broadcast Brazilian League of Legends Championship Competitions
MadHouse TV, a Brazil-based content creation entity formed through a partnership between the Podpah Group and FURIA, has secured the broadcasting rights for the Brazilian League of Legends Championship (CBLOL).
- MadHouse TV has secured the broadcasting rights for the 2026 Brazilian League of Legends Championship (CBLOL).
- The channel's debut coverage of the 2026 CBLOL season is scheduled to begin on January 17, 2026, at 1 p.m. local time.
- MadHouse TV is a collaborative content creation project established between the Podpah Group and FURIA, which officially launched in March 2025.
Most-Watched CS2 Teams of 2025: Team Vitality and Team Spirit
The 2025 Counter-Strike 2 competitive landscape was defined by the dominance of Team Vitality and Team Spirit, both of which emerged as the primary drivers of global viewership.
- Team Vitality led the 2025 CS2 circuit in total watch time with 90.3 million hours, supported by their nine tournament titles.
- Team Spirit achieved the highest average concurrent viewership in the industry at 421,296, driven by strong engagement from the Russian-speaking demographic.
- Team Vitality maintained high audience retention with an average of 397,843 concurrent viewers, trailing only Team Spirit.
Who Won Steam's 'Best of 2025' Revenue Rankings?
This analysis examines the 2025 revenue performance of games on the Steam platform, utilizing official year-end charts to identify market trends and shifts in consumer behavior.
- Steam revenue rankings are increasingly dominated by new releases, with 31 of the top-grossing titles debuting in 2024 or 2025, up from 24 in 2024.
- Performance marketing data across $625 million in 2025 digital spend indicates that last-click attribution models fail to capture the full value of upper-funnel activities like YouTube exposure.
- For paid titles, improving user review scores from mixed to positive significantly increases conversion rates, whereas review sentiment has no measurable impact on free-to-play title performance.