CS:GO edges out COD in popularity and influence

Right now in 2024, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive edges out Call of Duty in terms of total players, esports viewership, and cultural relevance. However, COD dominates in terms of sheer revenue thanks to its premium releases and content model. Both games boast impressive longevity, but CS:GO‘s community-driven success is unmatched despite COD‘s stronger mainstream presence.

Active Players

As of February 2023, CS:GO hit an all-time high of over 1.35 million peak concurrent players on Steam:

Meanwhile. the newest COD title Modern Warfare II had a Steam peak around 200,000 after its October 2022 launch. However, total MWII players across console and Battle.net likely reach tens of millions. Past entries like Black Ops 3 also sold over 26 million copies initially.

Across its lifetime, CS:GO has had over 60 million monthly active users as of 2016. The franchise sales sit above 60 million as of 2022.

Both games undoubtedly drive massive playerbases, but CS:GO‘s ability to remain the #1 game on Steam a decade after launch gives it the edge here. I expect its fandom to continue powering high player counts as COD yearly releases rise and fall around their launch windows.

Revenue

Despite losing in raw players, Call of Duty crushes CS:GO in revenue:

• CS:GO brought in approx 267 million USD in 2020
• The COD series made over $3 billion USD in 2020

This massive sales difference comes down to both premium pricing and content strategy. The base CS:GO game sells for just $15 USD, while main COD titles debut for $60 or more plus paid DLC.

CS:GO makes up ground with its in-game skins economy pushing high investment from dedicated players. Over $50 million was spent on skins during the 2020 Operation Shattered Web event alone.

COD also monetizes through the Battle Pass model and abundant microtransactions. The series brings in billions yearly from full-priced releases to free Warzone and mobile.

This divergence shows COD‘s mainstream model driving casual spend, while CS:GO fosters hardcore fan cultivation. Both work, but yearly premium warfare blockbusters understandably make higher short term gains.

Esports Viewership

CS:GO boasts a thriving professional scene and absolutely dominates Call of Duty here:

• 2022 CS:GO Major – Over 2.7 million peak viewers
• 2022 COD Champs – Peaked around 100,000 viewers

And this viewership gap holds up long term, not just for the Major. The PGL Stockholm Major drew in nearly 2.8 million max viewers back in late 2021 over six days of competition.

Call of Duty League Finals hovering around 100-150k peaks has remained consistent for 4+ years now since franchising in 2020. Events like the LA Thieves Home Series hit 201k in 2022, but still fail to approach CS:GO‘s tier.

Viewers for top esports via Escharts.com, last 6 months:

CS:GO‘s vibrant competitive environment keeps it among esports‘ elite. Franchised COD continues to lag despite developer investment. Longterm CS:GO viewership still seems to widely outpace COD year on year.

Cultural Relevance

Both CS:GO and COD boast strong brand recognition after 20+ years cementing FPS names. But CS:GO‘s community and evergreen status in memes and pop culture secure its staying power.

Reddit and Twitter data shows CS:GO maintaining much higher discussion volume after all these years. The game has evolved into a platform with custom servers, modes, skins trading and betting underpinning its dedicated fandom.

Quoting esports journalist DeKay on Twitter: "Almost 11 years later, CS:GO is still topping the Steam charts and setting new records. It‘s incredibly unusual for a competitive multiplayer shooter to have this kind of longevity."

He‘s right – competitive titles rarely maintain this level of relevance. COD‘s yearly overhauls keep casual interest, but fracture the audience. Cold War, Vanguard and MWII all cater to different crowds.

COD may drive the mainstream market, but CS:GO rules the internet‘s gaming psyche with its skins economy, Case openings, surf modes and a deeply passionate grassroots playerbase no yearly sequel can replicate.