CS:GO Skin Gambling Explained

The era of CS:GO skin gambling may be coming to an end as Steam updated its Online Conduct policy to prevent users from engaging in this type of activity. More specifically, the latest update to this policy states that Steam users shall not engage in commercial activities such as running contests, buying or selling Steam accounts, posting advertisements, or gambling. This last element is the most crucial one for Counter-Strike players , as it explicitly states that the action of gambling skins is now frowned upon by St


The Counter-Strike franchise features some of the most impressive shooting levels in video games, including the legendary Dust 2 map. Dust 2 has, itself, been ported to a number of other video games as a custom level, most recently making the jump to Fortni


However, this isn't the first time a Valve product or service was indirectly involved in the war efforts. It was recently reported that the Ukrainian military is using the Steam Deck to remotely control turrets . Here, the Steam Deck runs a custom UI that allows the operator to be up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) away from the turret. The custom version is reportedly capable of installing any anti-personnel or anti-tank weapon as w


In what appears to be bizarre effort to avoid oversight for its loot boxes, the developers of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive have added a controversial new feature. The new feature is exclusive to France, where lawmakers are currently evaluating new regulations regarding loot boxes and gambling in video games. The feature, in an extremely limited fashion, allows players to look inside of a loot box prior to spending money to unlock it. And Valve clearly believes it will help CS:GO avoid additional scrut


As if that isn't frustrating enough, Valve has apparently "preloaded" the X-Ray Scanner with an item already. Meaning that players will have to purchase this item, regardless of whether they want it, in order to use the X-Ray Scanner on a loot box. The X-Ray Scanner may appear to be beneficial to players, but ultimately is just click the next site another effort at encouraging players to begin purchasing microtransactions . There's little reason to believe it's significantly beneficial over


In any case, even though the Finnish newspaper's de_voyna map was launched in line with World Press Freedom Day to reach the millions of Russians playing Counter-Strike , it's worth noting that Valve wasn't consulted prior to the community-made map going online. So it will be interesting to see how long the downloadable map will remain online, should the company take any act


One community-made Counter-Strike: Global Offensive map is seemingly offering Russians an alternative view of the war in Ukraine. While Valve's Counter-Strike has been among the most popular live-service titles to date, the game is currently seeing a notable uptick in interest thanks to the recent reveal that Counter-Strike 2 is officially in the works . Now, it appears one community is looking to leverage this popularity to shed light on the situation in Ukra

Steam updated its guidelines for users to add more restrictions regarding online gambling, leaving the future of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skin gambling uncertain a few months before the release of its highly anticipated sequel Counter-Strike 2 . These guidelines, gathered under the name "Steam Online Conduct," describes the activities Steam users cannot perform on Valve’s platform, such as posting illegal or inappropriate content, engaging in unlawful activities, or harassing other users. The update to this policy impacts Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players, who are now unsure of the future of their skin gambling activit


It's currently unclear why Valve moved forward with these changes in France, in particular. So far France has not enacted any new regulations to account for loot boxes in video games, though French courts did recently rule that Steam has to allow users to resell their digital games . In 2018, the French online gambling regulatory body even assessed that loot boxes were not gambling under the country's current regulation. Perhaps Valve is using France as a testing bed or perhaps the decision is intended to shift discourse within the country or Europe. Either way, Valve certainly appears to be taking steps to protect the profits it receives from loot boxes amid the growing international controve


While many have taken issue with the contents of this patch, it's unlikely to have a major effect on Valve's team-based shooter. CS:GO was one of the best-selling and most-played games on Steam in 2020 , though given the title is free-to-play "most-downloaded" may be a better descriptor. Either way, it should remain popular, even if multiple live tournaments have reportedly been cancelled due to the coronavirus pande


In order to further contain CS:GO 's French marketplace, perhaps to avoid market manipulation through the use of X-Ray Scanners, Valve is making one additional change. Loot boxes can no longer be purchased from the Steam Community Market in France. All CS:GO players in the country will have to earn their own loot boxes. Though, naturally, Valve will still allow those players to sell their loot boxes to those in other countr