CS:GO support officially ends for ‘legacy’ version
It's been a hell of a run, eh? Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, better known as CS:GO, has lit up our lives since August 2012, but all good things must come to an end.
The tactical shooter has been superseded by Counter-Strike 2, and while we knew CS:GO's time would be up on January 1, 2024, it's hard not to feel nostalgic for a game that holds such a deep connection to so many, and indeed esports as a whole.
CS:GO moves to 'Legacy' status
Click to enlargeUp until yesterday, players could hop into CS:GO or Counter-Strike 2 at will, but the former has now moved to a "legacy" status, meaning Valve won't be supporting it anymore. It's still playable, but don't expect patches or updates as of January 1 of this year. You also won't find official matchmaking, so players will need to lean on community services.
As Valve says, "the legacy version of CS:GO is a frozen build of CS:GO. It has all of the features of CS:GO except for official matchmaking."
"As technology advances, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue support for older hardware, including DirectX 9 and 32-bit operating systems," Valve's Steam Support page explains.
"Similarly, we will no longer support macOS. Combined, these represented less than one percent of active CS:GO players."
Given the low player numbers on Mac and 32-bit systems it's perhaps surprising Counter-Strike was supported as long as it has been, but Valve seemingly sees this as an opportunity to streamline things.
Now that January 1 has been and gone, Valve says CS:GO will remain available but "certain functionality that relies on compatibility with the Game Coordinator (e.g., access to inventory) may degrade and/or fail."
Can I get a refund on Counter-Strike Global Offensive?
Counter-Strike, in both of its forms, is free-to-play, but with Prime Status being a premium add-on, you may be wondering if you can request a refund - and thankfully you can, with some caveats.
"DirectX 9 and/or 32-bit Windows users are eligible for a Prime Status Upgrade refund if their purchase was made on Steam between the announcement of the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test (March 22, 2023) and the launch of Counter-Strike 2 (September 27, 2023)," Valve's page explains, presumably aimed at those hoping CS2 would come to 32-bit platforms.
For Mac users, a refund is possible if they played predominantly on Mac and played there between those same dates (March 22, 2023, to September 27, 2023). This counts regardless of when Prime Status was purchased.
"CD keys, gifts, and accounts with bans are not eligible for a refund," Valve adds.
Finally moving over to Counter-Strike 2 following this news? Why not check out our rundown of the finest crosshairs.
