You think CS2 sucks? There’s still one way to play CS:GO on PC—here’s how 

CS:GO isn't totally gone.

Official CS:GO art featuring two Counter-Terrorists.
Image via Valve

CS2 officially launched on Sept. 27 and, as a result, replaced CS:GO’s app on Steam. Though it looks like Valve has nuked CS:GO forever, the community found a way to keep playing it on PC.

Recommended Videos

We’re not sure how long this method will be active, but as of Sept. 28, it is working perfectly. The only way to play CS:GO on PC right now is to download the “csgo_demo_viewer – 1.38.7.9” beta version on Steam. Although it’s impossible to play on the official servers, you can create a dedicated server to play with your friends or simply play against bots.

If you’re interested in still playing CS:GO because you think CS2 isn’t in a great state at the moment, just follow these simple steps:

  1. Head to your Steam Library and right-click CS2.
  2. Click on “Properties” from the drop-down menu.
  3. Select the “Beta” tab.
  4. In the “Beta Participation” drop-down menu, click on “csgo_demo_viewer – 1.38.7.9.”
  5. Steam will automatically start to download this build of CS:GO.
  6. When the download is ready and you click to play CS2, Steam will ask you if you want to play CS2 or the demo viewer version of CS:GO.

It remains unclear if Valve will keep this version of CS:GO active so people can set up dedicated servers in the same way they do with Counter-Strike: Source and Counter-Strike: 1.6. These games are much older than CS:GO and you can still play them.

Author
Image of Leonardo Biazzi
Leonardo Biazzi
Staff writer and CS:GO lead. Leonardo has been passionate about games since he was a kid and graduated in Journalism in 2018. Before Leonardo joined Dot Esports in 2019, he worked for Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte. Leonardo also worked for HLTV.org between 2020 and 2021 as a senior writer, until he returned to Dot Esports and became part of the staff team.