shroud says CS2 needs this one thing to hit 5 million player count

Fariha Bhatti Published 07/04/2023

FPS maestro and popular Twitch streamer Michael “shroud” Grzesiek has some thoughts about Counter-Strike 2, again, but players would agree with him this time.

CS2 is still in beta, but it’s already making waves, with even the best of the best begging Valve to grant them access. Unfortunately, only 3% of the player base currently has the privilege of testing the game in beta, with the rest eagerly grinding ranked in the hope of getting noticed by Valve. As a result, CSGO broke all player count records, peaking at 1.5 million in March.

Safe to say, CS2 is on the right track, but shroud thinks it all means nothing if Valve doesn’t work on their matchmaking (MM) system.

Shroud says CS2 needs better matchmaking

CS2 has been released with three significant changes, but none include anything related to MM. But it’s still in beta testing, and Valve may be saving the best for the last. According to shroud, CS2 should officially release with an improved MM. Otherwise, it’s just the same old game in new packaging.

“If CS2 doesn’t f—ing work on their matchmaking system and their rank system and all that s—, and it’s just the same as CSGO, I’m gonna be so upset. It won’t matter because like people are still gonna play the game anyway because it’s Counter-Strike,” shroud said.

However, shroud believes that CS2 is in a spot where it can break the mold and hit new heights, maybe even 5 million players. But, it would only be possible if Valve works on the MM system, which is currently broken in CSGO. If that does happen, CS2 could take over all games and “engulf everything,” according to shroud.

With better MM, shroud likely means a system that matches appropriate ranks with one another, has better progress criteria, and maybe even more transparency. Currently, CSGO players have no way to find out where they stand on the ladder beside the ranks. The pest of hackers adds to the nuisance that is CSGO MM.

Beta is out, and while CS2 has many minor tweaks, players have yet to discover something drastically different from CSGO. Valve hasn’t yet announced any improvements to anti-cheat or changes to the MM system, two things that players were mainly looking forward to.

But it’s worth waiting until the official release to make any claims against Valve. So far, CS2 looks good, and players love it!

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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