The game we all love and cherish today is a product of a long chain of predecessors, dating all the way back to 1999. There have been many versions of Counter-Strike, and CS 1.6 was arguably the best version to exist. That is, until CS:GO was born.

So what exactly makes CS:GO more iconic than CS 1.6?

1. The Esports Fanatic 

The most basic reason why CS:GO is more popular than CS 1.6 is simply because esports is a much more serious thing in recent times than it was 10-15 years ago. The Internet was not as vast either back in the day. Hardware was not as advanced, either. 

Esports has undeniably grown ten-folds in the past few years, and the rise of the youngest Counter-Strike child is majorly owed to that fact.

2. The Grand Tournaments

The biggest CS:GO tournaments today have eye-watering prizes. Its attractiveness creates a serious competition, and esports continues to become a serious career choice. 

CS:GO today is not just a game where you can chill out. It’s a dream for many youngsters. 

CS 1.6 tournaments were not nearly as huge and popular, with the meagre few occurring far and between. Even the Counter-Strike community themselves were not as concerned and passionate about the tournaments. 

But today, a huge part of the community is stuck together by the rumbles from the professional scene. Almost everyone you meet will be in a different clan of support and love for a team at the highest level.

3. The Aesthetics 

No matter how much we say that it’s the gameplay that matters more than the looks, that line of thought is wrong. First impressions matter. Beauty matters. 

Compared to the modern day, CS 1.6’s beauty was almost nonexistent. The lack of advancement in game developing can take the blame. The limitations of the engine it ran on too was a significant part of why the game is how it is. 

Contrast that with Source or more acutely, CS:GO. CS:GO maps today are a sight to behold. 

The overall details that go into a map are game-changing. But one of the main reasons why CS:GO and older versions of CS are worlds apart are the skins and stickers.

CS:GO wasn’t liked much in its beta and early versions, but the introduction of skins, stickers and new knives completely flipped the graphs. 

People started grinding the game to win skins and the popularity shot up. I need not explain how important skins are for modern CS:GO, but one of the more underground reason needs to be touched on.

Alt-Text: Old CS 1.6 Inferno 

Alt-Text: CS:GO Inferno

4. The Trading World

With skins came prices. Numbers that were negotiable. Money that would change hands.

This avenue of the CS:GO universe puts the game in a different dimension than any other game to date, CS 1.6 included. 

A huge part of the community started genuine trading. Holding skins and selling them before huge CS:GO events. Buying new CS:GO teams stickers or CS:GO player stickers and then selling them at a higher rate afterwards by predicting how the events will transpire. Buying a bulk of new and cheap skins in hope that their prices will soon shoot up.
A myriad of market tactics got introduced into CS:GO and the landscape of this “video game” is unimaginably large. 

Too far a horizon for a newcomer to admire. 

Alt-Text: A beautiful AK skin against a beautiful Office background

The veterans of this game gladly recall playing the classic Counter-Strike on slow, ancient machines. The true essence of CS 1.6 was mostly about relaxing and having fun with your friends, and the competitiveness of the game was for a very narrow slice of the player base. CS:GO is inherently competitive because of the change in mindsets these days. 

I am not old, yet I boot up CS 1.6, CZ and Source way more than I do CS:GO. The community of these older games exist and it is a pleasure to interact with them and play with them stress free. 

In the end, CS:GO is undoubtedly the “better” game. Better physics, smoother gameplay, modern visuals, and of course, the intense competition. CS:GO is more iconic in the modern day, but the innate legacy of the ancestral love of 1.6 will pulsate through the veins of every CS player, Global Offensive or not.