At one point in 2018, Fortnite was the most popular game in the world. Now it has become a meme to its competitive community, and to surrounding communities as well, despite the $100 million prize pool that the game boasts for its tournaments.





The Fortnite meta changes almost every single week, and competitors aren’t happy with constant disruptions to the game. Recently, players in a Fortnite collegiate tournament announced their retirement from the game—literally on-stage in an interview after a championship win—because of how poorly developer Epic Games is handling its competitive scene.





For instance, the "siphoning" mechanic, along with other important game features, were removed in an attempt to cater to less "intense" players, according to Epic. In response, the Fortnite Twitter account receives hundreds of replies every day with the same messages: revert the update and fix the game. Overall, it doesn't seem like Epic Games has the right idea when it comes to maintaining a sustainable and stable competitive scene.





The meta in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, on the other hand, changes very rarely. Even the slightest change, such as the recent economy update or the AUG price change, can stir the competitive meta and cause a minor uproar among professional players and the community. The difference, however, is that small updates don't require massive strategic adaptations from pro teams, and with those Valve will (hopefully) listen to the community on controversial issues (like the AUG price revert from $3,100 to $3,400).





So what exactly would CS:GO look like if Valve wanted to focus more on the casual community? In short, the game would potentially resemble a generic Call of Duty game, but with slight variations thanks to the versatile Source engine.





Different week, different guns





Screenshot via Valve





In past years, the M4A4, AK-47, and AWP were the only main guns used during buy rounds. Recently, other guns have become viable choices in many situations, like the AUG, M4A1-S, Galil, and FAMAS (to an extent). Now imagine getting a new gun introduced into the game every week. Weapon usage would become vastly diverse—but it would still suck.





As an example: Remember when the R8 Revolver was thrown into CS:GO out of nowhere and broke the game? Or when the MP5 did almost nothing at all to the game meta because it's just a re-skinned MP9? Adding new guns would be a meta change crapshoot in a way, since we'd never know what to expect. Popular weapons from other first-person shooters—like the SCAR, the AK-74u, the M16, the Mini Uzi, the 50 cal, etc.—would further disrupt the competitive landscape with each update. But at least Counter-Strike is unlikely to stoop down to Fortnite-levels of absurdity. Guns like the flintlock pistol, the quad launcher, and the scoped revolver leave fort builders scratching their heads more and more with each update.





Adapting to map changes becomes impossible





Screenshot via Valve

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If Valve made operations look like seasons in Fortnite, maps would literally change with the seasons during holidays like Christmas and Halloween. When Cobblestone was given an all-out Halloween aesthetic along with its massive map changes last year, it felt like players were fighting in a haunted castle. The timing was odd for the revamp as well, because it also resulted in changes that effectively killed Cobblestone's competitive viability (e.g. A bombsite).





So think of Cache during a cold Ukrainian winter or Dust II with a "Silent Night" vibe to it, but with additional structural changes. Community maps in the workshop like Dust II Winter: Night Version would likely see much more play time and players would be immersed in a new experience every couple of months. Different themes and layouts, however, would quickly become stale and problematic for players, with possible issues ranging from visibility, FPS drops, and even client crashes. On the competitive side, learning new grenade spots and angles becomes excruciatingly irritating. Thank goodness Valve doesn't torture its playerbase like this.





Player models and skins mimic Garry's Mod





Screenshot via Valve





Every map in CS:GO has its own Terrorist and Counter-Terrorist factions. But imagine a factionless game with endless skin options, thanks to the Source engine. Counter-Strike would essentially become Garry's Mod, a game which also runs on Valve's Source engine. If Valve wanted to monetize the skins, it could charge an arbitrary dollar amount (typically $20 in Fortnite) for a simple cosmetic change, such as making a T or CT player model into a female version or implementing a full-body pro player model.





Of course, this game modification would have to be restricted to community-run servers, unless Valve wants CS to also contain role-playing modes like Jailbreak, Trouble in Terrorist Town, Prop Hunt, or Murder. Otherwise common G-Mod models from different animes, cartoons, or video games would be rampant in deathmatch and casual modes.





Obtaining weapon skins, however, would probably stay the same or adapt to a new model. If Valve wanted CS:GO to be "grindy" (i.e. force players into completing challenges for cosmetics), they can go the Fortnite/Apex Legends route by adding a battle pass with operations. Honestly, that would make the game’s economy suck. Skins would lose their worth in the market (via no case openings) because everyone could obtain one through investing more hours.





A difference in culture





Photo via ESL





These hypotheticals would effectively ruin the inherent fun derived in Counter-Strike, at least from the audience it has now. We can probably all agree on that. Additionally, the fanbase's opinion on Valve could change overnight. The game doesn't need flashy skins, tedious battle passes, and brand-spanking-new updates every week to maintain its player count.





CS:GO is a game that naturally brings in players through its steep learning curve, difficult competitive mechanics and strategies, and multi-layered teamplay structures. Plus, changes only arrive in incremental amounts and in spaced-out intervals, allowing for players to adapt and thrive in a relatively stable and competitive environment. Instead of focusing on the negatives of the game, its esports scene can focus more substantially on player and team storylines, which is something that Fortnite could definitely work on.