CS2 sees drop in player count amid stuttering complaints

Counter-Strike 2 community has been complaining about stuttering and lag, which have had a noticeable impact on the game’s player count.

Earlier, players noticed heavy stuttering and rubber banding in CS2, an issue that Valve instantly resolved. However, after the latest update, a new issue has cursed the competitive queue, which added Steam video recording software.

According to clips shared by fans, the desync has become progressively worse in the last few days. Some players shared clips of dying to an invisible enemy due to an insane delay in tick registration.

This issue has been reported by several CS2 players who claim to have stable ping. Hot off the heels of stuttering and desync complaints, CS2 has continued to lose players two months in a row.

• Related: List of new CS2 community maps includes a classic 1.6 location

What is the CS2 player count in 2024?

In June 2024, CS2 enjoyed a respectable player count of 947,636., according to credible data site Steamcharts. However, this figure reflects a noteworthy decline over the past two months.

In May, CS2 had an average of 958,207 active players, reaching a peak of 1,614,925 for the entire month. However, June saw a slight decline of 1.1%, resulting in a loss of almost 11,000 players. This is the first time CS2 has dropped in player count in the last four months.

While this slump could be due to many factors, stuttering issues are most likely to blame. This, paired with a lack of promised Overwatch and an increasing number of cheaters, may have added to player frustration. Valve resolved the rubber banding issue, almost right away, so it’s likely that the new hit-reg problem may get acknowledged soon.

Despite the temporary slump, CS2 has gained a significant number of players since November 23. This small drop doesn’t necessarily mean that the game wouldn’t bounce back as average player count is still much higher than it was early in 2024.