Counter-Strike: Global Offensive vs Counter-Strike: Source
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is an FPS strategy game from Valve (2012) while Counter-Strike: Source is an FPS sandbox game from Valve (2004).
What each one is
Steam files Counter-Strike: Global Offensive under FPS and Strategy. In contrast, it files Counter-Strike: Source under FPS and Sandbox.
For over two decades, Counter-Strike has offered an elite competitive experience, one shaped by millions of players from across the globe. And now the next chapter in the CS story is about to begin. This is Counter-Strike 2.
Counter-Strike: Source blends Counter-Strike's award-winning teamplay action with the advanced technology of Source™ technology.
At a glance
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | Counter-Strike: Source | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.4/10 | 8.7/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (86%, 9,826,211) | Overwhelmingly Positive (96%, 193,040) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | 88/100 |
| Price | Free | $9.99 |
| Install size | 85 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2012 | 2004 |
| Developer | Valve | Valve |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive vs Counter-Strike: Source, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Counter-Strike: Global OffensiveFPS strategy gameCounter-Strike: SourceFPS sandbox gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Counter-Strike: Global OffensiveFPS, Shooter, CompetitiveCounter-Strike: SourceShooter, FPS, ActionThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Counter-Strike: Global OffensiveScore 8.4 · 86% on SteamCounter-Strike: Source ✓Score 8.7 · 96% on Steam · 88 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive9,826,211 reviews · 1 add-on · 85 GBCounter-Strike: Source193,040 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ✓FreeCounter-Strike: Source$9.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Counter-Strike: Global OffensivePlayableCounter-Strike: SourcePlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 1 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueCounter-Strike: Global Offensive and Counter-Strike: Source on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Counter-Strike: Source (GamingPickz Score 8.7)
- The cheaper right now: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Free)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (9,826,211 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
FPSShooterMultiplayerCompetitiveActionTeam-Basede-sportsTactical
Where they differ
Online Co-OpCo-opTradingRealisticFast-Paced
SingleplayerAtmosphericSurvivalSimulationSandbox
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is demanding, for players who want a challenge. Counter-Strike: Source is demanding, for players who want a challenge.
System requirements, side by side
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | Counter-Strike: Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | Video card must be 1 GB | — |
| Minimum CPU | 4 hardware CPU threads - Intel® Core™ i5 750 | — |
| Minimum RAM | 8 GB | — |
| Install size | 85 GB | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive · Counter-Strike: Source.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 6 accessibility features for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and 6 for Counter-Strike: Source. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Counter-Strike: Source in scope?
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has drawn 9,826,211 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 85 GB. Counter-Strike: Source has drawn 193,040 Steam reviews.
Is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or Counter-Strike: Source better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Counter-Strike: Source rates higher (8.7 to 8.4). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or Counter-Strike: Source?
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is cheaper right now at Free, against $9.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.