How to Play CS:GO After CS2's Release.
If you don’t want to start playing Counter-Strike 2 and want to keep playing CS:GO on Steam but can’t figure out how or where to do it. This article will show you how to continue playing CS:GO on Steam rather than Counter-Strike 2. The process is super easy and most CS:GO functionality is still working. At least at the time of writing.
Related: How to Hide Build Info in Counter Strike 2 | Hide Bottom-Left Text in CS2.
Counter-Stike 2 has recently replaced CS:GO on Steam as an auto-update, replacing Counter-Strike Go’s entry in your Steam library. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t keep playing CS:GO on Steam instead of CS2. The process has just changed so follow along as this guide shows you how to play CS:GO on Steam instead of CS2.
Keep in mind that Valve may change this process at any time or may even remove CS:GO from Steam entirely but for now the following steps are the official working process. While CS2 is great CS:GO is a tough game to beat.
Where is CS:GO on Steam? How do you keep laying CS:GO on Steam instead of CS2?
- To download the original CS:GO after CS2's release, right-click CS2 in your Steam library, go to Properties, and on the DLC Tab, select "CS go demo viewer 1.38.7.9." This allows you to access the older version of CS:GO from early 2023.
- Once you've completed the small download, you can play the original CS:GO in its last updated state from CS2's release.
What about Community Servers and Maps? Well, that’s complicated.
While you can access the main menu and see friends, the original CS:GO servers for competitive matchmaking are completely offline, so you won't be able to join competitive matches. Instead, you can select "Practice with bot" mode and play all of the old maps in their original state for various game modes like competitive, wingman, casual, deathmatch, and war games.
You can also access workshop maps for CS:GO, but there might be some confusion between CS2 and CS:GO content in the workshop.
Community servers, such as surf, KZ, and bhop, seem to be unavailable through the community browser as it's all updated to CS2. However, you may still be able to join them using the "Connect [IP]" command in the console if you have the IP address of a specific server.
Community Servers
While the community server browser in CS2 is now mostly dedicated to CS2 servers, you can still join community servers by using the "Connect [IP]" command in the console. If you have the IP address of a specific community server (such as surf, KZ, or bhop), you can connect to it.
Downloading Maps
If you've previously downloaded maps from community servers (e.g., surf maps), you can still play them even though they may not be listed in the workshop or the server browser. These maps “should” work as you remember them, allowing you to enjoy the same gameplay experiences.
Server Version
CS:GO is 1.38.7.9, is the last official release of CS:GO before CS2's release. This version should be compatible with maps and gameplay on community servers. But won’t receive any more official updates moving forward. Any updates are going to come from the community via a range of different channels.
Future Possibilities? We really don’t know…
While CS2 has replaced CS:GO, there's hope that Source mods, metamod, plugins, and server-side modifications will be developed for CS2 in the future. This could potentially bring back normal community servers like surf, KZ, and bhop, offering a similar experience to what players enjoyed in CS:GO. So keep an eye on NexusMods for a boom in CS:GO content.