Here’s why CSGO will get a new operation in 2023

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players are chomping at the bit for a new operation in 2023, and Valve will probably deliver. Here’s why.

Operation Riptide, with all of its fancy agent skins and golden AK-47s, feels like it debuted ages ago despite its actual release date in November 2021. Many CSGO fans are starting to feel like a new operation is due, and the timeline for releases definitely supports that idea. Here is why we think a new CSGO operation is coming in early 2023 and the new features that it may or may not bring to Valve’s tactical shooter.

Looking back at previous operation release dates, it becomes clear that Valve likes to take around an eight-month break between releases to make room for esports events and balance tuning. Listed below are the release dates for all the operations in CSGO history.

• Operation Riptide – September 21, 2021
• Operation Broken Fang – December 3, 2020
• Operation Shattered Web – November 18, 2019
• Operation Hydra – May 23, 2017
• Operation Wildfire – February 17, 2016
• Operation Bloodhound – May 26, 2015
• Operation Vanguard  – November 11, 2014
• Operation Breakout – July 1, 2014
• Operation Phoenix – February 20, 2014
• Operation Bravo – September 19, 2013
• Operation Payback – April 25, 2013

For the most recent trio of operations, they have typically been released around a year after each other. However, there’s been a considerably longer break between Operation Riptide and whatever Valve is cooking up next. It’s currently been over 15 months since Riptide came out, making the current hiatus the longest operation break since Hydra to Shattered Web. That long break implies that Valve is cooking up something big.

Valve typically teases the release of a new operation shortly before it launches in the main client. However, CSGO’s developers usually drop hints well in advance of the celebration going live. In the case of Riptide, CSGO posted a now-deleted post of a single wave emoji on September 13, 2021, just over a week before the launch. If Valve does give any mysterious hints, expect an operation within the next two weeks.

What will be included in a new 2023 CSGO operation?

A 2023 operation would likely bring even more new features than previous events due to the longer timeline of production, but most fans probably care about the new skins. 

A new batch of operation-exclusive cosmetics is practically guaranteed for any major new content update. The most likely case is that Valve will go back and finish the refreshed skin lines for vintage maps. Overpass and Ancient are ripe for a new skin line, as would Cache and Cobblestone if Valve needs older inspiration. It would probably also include a new batch of agent skins, as operations have become the primary way that new player models enter the game.

New community maps are also a staple of new CSGO operations, and Valve likely wouldn’t break the tradition in 2023. It’s pointless to speculate on which ones would be chosen, but with Anubis added to the official map pool, The stakes would be higher than ever.

Lastly, the battle pass, and more missions to go with it. Operation Riptide’s star system was a hit with CSGO fans, and the new content provides a new way to play the game with plenty of incentives. The system would probably come with some tweaks hopefully aimed at the rotating Danger Zone map pool. Regardless of what Valve chooses to include, a new operation would be welcomed with open arms in 2023.