Operation Broken Fang end date leaked in hidden CSGO files

Thanks to recent updates to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s code, players now know Operation Broken Fang’s end date.

CSGO’s game files are pre-loaded with all the content for Broken Fang, including future missions and the stop date for the event. Broken Fang includes a premium queue, 50 ping commands for use in all game modes, and more skins than collectors can get their hands on. But CSGO’s operations have mainly stayed under wraps until the week they release. Last year’s Shattered Web only pushed a few mission cards at a time to the game’s files.

This year, Broken Fang is mapped out from top to bottom. Now players not only know all of the operation’s mission names and weekly themes, but the last day of Broken Fang.

When will CSGO’s Operation Broken Fang end?

Broken Fang is set to end on March 9.

16 weeks after CSGO launched Broken Fang, Valve will hand out the operation’s final mission card. As of right now, files point towards missions centered around Ancient. After releasing a series of hints that Valve might bring de_Aztec back to CSGO in honor of the ESL One Rio Major, it seems like Ancient is the Aztec throwback players have been looking forward to. That said, textures for the map are sometimes referred to as “aztec2” within game files. 

Either way, just because there won’t be any more mission cards doesn’t mean the operation ends right away. In previous years, Valve has “extended” the operation and all 16 mission cards for an entire month. The extra time allows players to finish up their coins and collect any stars they may have missed. That extra time also gives players an opportunity to check and see if Broken Fang has any hidden secrets, especially in the operation’s final days, because CSGO’s missions seem to line up very closely with the names of its rather dull skins.

How long was Operation Shattered Web?

Before Broken Fang, CSGO’s previous Shattered Web operation also ran for 16 total weeks, but Valve extended the operation by a month to allow players to catch up on any stars that they had missed. Operation stars are obtained by completing the expansion’s missions and are used to purchase cosmetic items inside the CSGO store. Shattered Web started on November 18, 2019 and ended on March 31 after a one-month extension.

What is a CSGO operation?

CSGO operations are a package of new maps, modes, and skins for the popular first-person shooter. The operations include items that won’t drop outside of the operation itself, making items from these expansions rarer than most. Additionally, operations in CSGO always bring some sort of cooperative mode to the almost exclusively PVP shooter, allowing players to test their mettle against bots, who have gotten some major upgrades in the past few years. These bots can even throw executes, turning the usually wimpy AI into a terrifying force. Operations typically last 16 weeks and cost around $14.99. So far, Valve has released a total of 10 Counter-Strike operations since the game’s release.