Linux users can finally play the latest CS:GO

Sep 23, 2014 07:16 GMT  ·  By

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the much anticipated multiplayer FPS from Valve, has finally arrived on Steam for Linux, skipping the Beta stage.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most requested Linux ports and now the Linux gamers finally have a chance to play it. The game was made available on Steam for Linux late last night and now it's ready for download. The interesting aspect of this new game is that the devs have skipped the Beta and they've released the game as stable.

Most – if not all – of the games in Valve's catalog were made available for the wider audience only after they spent a while as a Beta release, allowing the devs to gather important information from the community. This is especially useful if the game is played mostly online and it has millions of players on a daily basis.

Why the interest in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

If you were to take a look at the most played games on Steam for Linux, you would immediately notice that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is always in the top ten. It might not have had a successful launch, but everyone is playing right now. In fact, right after it was made available for the Windows platform, back in 2012, many Counter-Strike players didn't like it. They said that the previous ones were much better and vowed never to play it.

Valve didn't abandon its plans and they've continued to provide updates and support for this game. It eventually got adopted by the Counter-Strike community and it's now the most played title in the series.

"Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) will expand upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when it was launched 12 years ago. CS: GO features new maps, characters, and weapons and delivers updated versions of the classic CS content (de_dust, etc.). In addition, CS: GO will introduce new gameplay modes, matchmaking, leader boards, and more," reads the Steam entry.

The system requirements for the Linux platform haven't been published yet, but from what we have seen until now, it looks like they are really close to the ones for Windows. Users will need an Intel CoreTM 2 Duo E6600 AMD PhenomTM X3 8750 processor or better, at least 2GB of RAM, 7.6GB of HDD space, and a video card with at least 256 of VRAM.

What's left for Valve

Only a couple more games in Valve's catalog still remain to be ported, although it's unlikely that they will ever see the light of day. They are the first Left 4 Dead and a rather unknown title called Alien Swarm.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (5 Images)

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive main menu
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive gameplayCounter-Strike: Global Offensive looks on par with other versions
+2more