VALORANT vs. CS:GO is a good thing

Since VALORANT entered Closed Beta, and even well before that when it was called Project A, a narrative has surrounded it as being the "CS:GO killer." Now, I am a little biased towards CS, as it is my main game and one that I have loved for years. So, I am in doubt that VALORANT will ever kill CS, but that doesn't mean the game won't be successful. In fact, I hope it is majorly successful. Yes, I just said I hope VALORANT succeeds, but before you get the pitchforks out, let me explain why its success is a good thing for CS.

VALORANT vs. CS:GO

Before VALORANT came along, CS:GO had no competition in the realm of tactical shooters. Sure, you have titles like CrossFire in the east, but that title is mostly popular in Asian regions and not so much so in the States or Europe. Then, you have Warface, I guess, but many people have no clue what that game even is, and let me tell you, it may be deemed a "tactical shooter," but its nothing like CS, honestly. CS takes a lot of time and commitment to be good at, and I mean truly good at it. Aim and kill ability isn't the only thing that makes you good at CS, and if you are a good CS player, you know that.

I don't think I need to sit you down and tell you why monopolies are bad things, and Valve very much so had a monopoly on the tactical shooter genre. This monopoly is probably a big reason why we saw a two-year gap between operations, and why patches and nerfs seem so sluggish to be performed. I am not a game developer, nor do I work for Valve, so I can't say that this is the sole reason for these things, but it no doubt plays a part.

Then, along comes VALORANT. Riot Games created a tactical shooter from the ground up with a competitive mindset. You can argue that you don't like their approach with abilities, but you can't argue that that wasn't where their minds were in the creation of VALORANT. VALORANT seems a lot more accessible than CS, making it one of those "easy to pick up, hard to master" type deals. And, it seems that the success of VALORANT has helped cement it as a true competitor to CS, and it feels like a chess match between Riot and Valve has begun.

A small sample size

Since VALORANT has only been in Closed Beta for a few weeks, it is hard to outright state that Valve is feeling some pressure, but you have to imagine that they are. One potential indicator for this is CS:GO's latest update that addressed balancing issues with a rifle in the game. The Krieg/SG 553 was a huge pain point for CS, and it had been that way since October 2019. Professional players and influencers were calling for the gun to be nerfed for almost six months before the gun received a nerf on April 10, which happens to be three days after VALORANT went live in Closed Beta. Now, once again, this is an assumption as I am not a developer at Valve, but the timeline is a bit peculiar. The CS scene played huge tournaments with this busted rifle and would have seen even more if it weren't for COVID-19, with no end in sight. But, after VALORANT explodes into the world, the gun is fixed. VALORANT may not have been the sole reason for fixing the rifle, but I believe it played a part.

The future

I truly believe that VALORANT and CS get better by both being successful. Will VALORANT kill CS:GO? No, it more than likely won't. But, can it influence the betterment of CS? Absolutely. People are going to enjoy one more than the other, and that's okay. Playing either game helps with the growth and development of both games. VALORANT vs. CS:GO can be a healthy competition. Let's voice and address it that way so we can get the most out of it.