VALVE Introduce Multiple Restrictions to Free CS:GO Accounts

The newest update to CS:GO, which was released earlier tonight, introduces major restrictions to free-to-play accounts. From now on all “non-Prime” accounts are excluded from most progression systems – these players will stop receiving XP, Ranks, drops, or Skill Groups, which also means they will not be able to play in Ranked Games. Now it is also impossible to upgrade to the Prime status for free.

Non-prime accounts will still be able to play every game mode, play on community servers, and play workshop content. Besides that, VALVE have added a new skill-based Unranked mode, which includes Competitive, Wingman, and Danger Zone, and is available for both non-Prime and Prime accounts.

The developers claim that these measures are meant to prevent “bad actors [trying to] hurt the experience of both new and existing players”. Players can upgrade their accounts by purchasing the Prime Status Upgrade from the Steam store – those who will make it in the following two weeks will save their Skill Group and XP progress.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released back in 2012 as a buy-to-play title, and transitioned to the free-to-play model in late 2018. The transition allowed the game to almost double the amount of active players. According to the steamcharts website, in the last 30 days CS:GO peaked at 1,039,259 players, while the average amount of players was 642,573 – compared to 546,031 and 310,085 in November 2018 before the transition.