Even though Counter-distinctive Strike’s gameplay idea has considerably influenced the popularity of first-person shooter (FPS) games in competitions, no other FPS game has yet to copy it. It may have achieved long-term success because it could firmly establish its place in the competitive market. With the summer 2020 release of VALORANT from Riot Games, everything changed. When VALORANT initially came out, many players called it a “CS clone” because of its gameplay similarities and Counter-Strike: Source. The game’s free-to-play business model enabled it to have an extensive player base right once, so VALORANT esports teams exploded.
Riot Games’ MOBA game League of Legends has already been a huge hit in the esports world. Riot Games was seeking to compete with Counter-dominance Strikes in the first-person shooter market after the success of their MOBA game League of Legends in esports. Contrary to VALORANT, which integrates more gimmicks and provides professional players more latitude to express themselves, Counter-Strike has a more conventional, uncomplicated design despite sharing mostly comparable gameplay objectives. Now that there is an “alternative” to 5v5 tactical shooters, many Counter-Strike pros are giving up the game and switching to VALORANT to compete.
The reason behind players switching to VALORANT
It has become common for former Counter-Strike players to move to VALORANT teams. They are forced to “retire” from Counter-Strike to start a new career in VALORANT, where they are given free agency. As a result, top firms are constantly looking for CS stars to advance to the VALORANT rank. Numerous young celebrities have changed their jobs since the VALORANT announcement. The esports VALORANT began to gain momentum. In place of scattered, independent contests, there were now organizations supported by Riot Games that followed their League of Legends strategy and esports schedule.
In contrast to the fragile CS environment, this framework from a company that had previously produced the most popular esports in the world (VALORANT competitions) offered security from the viewpoint of a professional player. Additionally, a developing esports market allows previously unknown and obscure people to take the lead in a novel game and position themselves as the public faces of significant companies.
However, it offered a substitute for CS’s tiresome travel and boot camps that were necessary to survive for established NA stalwarts. Because recognition was now far more possible, there was an obvious draw for amateur or semi-pro CS players. VALORANT has also been viewed as a second opportunity for all gamers whose careers had been halted by Valve’s infamously harsh VAC bans.
Correlation elements of CSGO and VALORANT
Despite their obvious resemblance, the two games contain several key distinctions. Every member of a Counter-Strike team that the player may manage is essentially a generic avatar whose gear and weapons affect their behavior. VALORANT events upend the status quo with the arrival of unique personalities referred to as Agents. Each Agent has a range of special abilities that they alone may employ. These talents in Counter-Strike serve the same purpose as equipment and must be learned in between rounds. An extreme ultimate power that charges in reaction to kills, eliminations, spike acts, etc., is also possessed by agents. Top players routinely switch from Counter-Strike and VALORANT with ease as many of the skills needed to be successful in one game transfer to the other. Most of the top VALORANT players worldwide have previously competed on a professional level in Counter-Strike, Overwatch, or other FPS games.
Conclusion
The two games may still thrive in the current esports scene even if VALORANT bought some of CSGO’s top players. CSGO’s passionate fan base has prevented the game from disappearing despite VALORANT’s phenomenal rise over the past year. As a result, there is still a chance that both games will live on. However, as VALORANT continues to grow, a former CSGO star and the current streamer have expressed fear about the future of Counter-Strike. It is “a much simpler game to get into, much more pleasant to the eye, like a little bit more casual,” he said in VALORANT news. Somewhat more fervent gamers enjoy Counter-Strike. However, because of these qualities, some Counter-Strike players have criticized VALORANT. There is little evidence to suggest that the two games cannot coexist in the current esports scene, even if VALORANT looks to be on track to recruit more of the top CSGO players and young players just starting their esports careers.
