- CS:GO has come a long way since its release in 2012 and Valve has helped shape the game well through constant updates and fixes.
- However, every now and then there was an odd update or a fix that would result in harsh criticism or a community backlash.
- Here are some of the most controversial CS:GO updates by Valve that had rocked the community.
CS:GO while being the same game that it was almost a decade back, has gone through a lot of small transitions and changes. In the last 9 years, the game has witnessed a lot of different and interesting metas, that has managed to keep us entertained and coming back for more. Valve has mostly done a good job of listening to what the players want, rolling out important updates tha have changed CS:GO for the better. But there have been times when certain updates have resulted in public backlash, some sort of controversy, or the developers facing strong criticism.
Despite not being a very common occurrence following an update, there have been times when Valve has received negative feedback. Let’s take a look at some of these updates for which the developers have received a great deal of criticism from the CS:GO community.
RELATED: Top 6 Controversies That Rocked CS:GO in 2020
5 Most Controversial CS:GO Updates
5. The Overpowered AUG/SG553 Week - May 2014
Valve had released a huge update for CS:GO in May 2014, introducing the concept of ‘Stickers’ to the game. While that was the highlight of the update, it also consisted of a lot of other changes like ‘Operation Bravo’ coming to an end, performance adjustments, UI improvements, several map fixes, and gameplay changes.
The biggest gameplay change that came with the update was buffing the scoped rifles AUG and SG 553. Both these weapons had received an improved rate of fire, along with reduced inaccuracy and recoil, the combination resulted in a massive appeal from the CS:GO community to nerf these weapons.
The huge uproar by the entire community forced the developers to take quick action and resolve this issue before it could lead to further damage. These weapons remained overpowered for around a week before Valve finally nerfed them, since then this week is infamously referred to as ‘The AUG Week’.
4. The CZ75 Nerf - July 2014
The CZ75 was considered as one of the strongest sidearms during the early years of CS:GO. The optional automatic pistol was overpowered for the first few years of the game, easily replacing both the Five-SeveN for CT and Tec-9 for Terrorists.
After years of calling out the weapon and the community debating about how brutally overpowered the automatic pistol was, Valve finally decided to nerf the CZ75 along with the 1 July 2014 update. Though the highlight of the update was the announcement of ‘Operation Breakout’, the sidearm’s nerf was the only thing everyone was concerned about.
Valve had decreased the standing and crouching accuracy range of the weapon but despite this change, the weapon was not properly balanced and it continued to rain havoc.
3. The R8 Revolver Update - December 2015
Valve decided to add a new secondary weapon ‘R8 Revolver’ to CS:GO in 2015 as a replacement for Deagle, and within no time it became the most game-breaking weapon to have ever been introduced.
It was legit the most powerful gun in the game at that point in time with the following statistics,
- It had a base damage of 115, allowing players to kill an enemy with a single shot to their chest. It was basically a portable AWP.
- It had an armour penetration value of 97.5, which means that even with armour an enemy was barely 2 shots away from death.
The plethora of bugs that the weapon initially came with was enough to make it the most broken sidearms ever. The community was really upset with the weapon and there was a huge cry out to balance the weapon. Valve had tried to give the community something new and had managed to break them into tears instead.
Though the developers went on to nerf the pistol just 2 days later in an update titled ‘Damage Control’, the turn around was such that almost no one uses that weapon anymore. It has simply vanished due to the heavy nerfs and is probably one of the least used weapons in CS:GO.
2. Valve Removing CS:GO Bots From Competitive
Valve had removed CS:GO bots from Competitive and Wingman game modes as part of its 7 January 2021 update, leading to a massive backlash from the CS:GO community who expressed their frustration on social media.
The users came forward to explain how the bots were important to the competitive ecosystem and why their existence in the game mode was necessary. But all said and done Valve’s decision this time around was final and maybe in the long run it would pay off, but this remains to be something that deeply saddened the entire CS:GO player base.
RELATED: CS:GO Community Reacts as Valve Removes Bots From Competitive
1. Valve Replacing Train With Ancient
The latest CS:GO update that was released on 3 May 2021, delivered a huge shock to the entire community as Valve replaced Train with Ancient on the Active Duty Map Pool. This was an unexpected change as everyone thought Mirage would be the map on its way out, while the redesigned Cache will be making its way back in the competitive scene.
So when the update dropped with this huge news, the developers instantly faced a lot of criticism for their random decisions. The majority of the player base was mighty upset and not happy with this surprise. Though the perspective is slowly changing, Ancient does need to undergo a lot of changes. Only time will tell how good of a map it turns out to be.
