Pimp: Valve should focus on casual players first

Counter-Strike 2 analyst Pimp said Valve should focus first on the casual gaming experience, Cybersport.ru reported on Nov. 12. Pimp shared the view in a post on X, commenting on a steady drop in the game’s online numbers.

What Pimp wrote

Pimp said the decline worries him about the game itself and wrote that numbers have fallen for eight months in a row. He also wrote that he hopes the recent VAC Live update and the upcoming Major can improve the situation.

Judging by conversations with friends who still play actively in their free time, things seem to have improved lately, Pimp wrote.

Pimp’s case for casual players

Pimp said esports appeared thanks to casual players. Valve should focus fully and first on the casual experience, he wrote, since without it the esports side would suffer greatly.

He added that he has always held this view, even when updates aimed at casual players sometimes made him furious. The post ended with a request to bring back seasonal content, missions and Danger Zone.

The online numbers

Cybersport.ru said the average online in CS2 in October was 797,300 players, 8,300 fewer than in September. According to the outlet, the game has lost audience for an eighth month in a row. The decline began in March, when the average fell by 14,900.