I love Counter-Strike (CS), and it was one of the first games I played on computers growing up. I grew up playing CS Xtreme V6 from internet cafes. It is a modded version of CS 1.6 which includes a deathmatch mode and a zombie survival mode.
Back in 2020-2021, during the pandemic when quarantines were imposed, two of my friends and I played Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) a lot since we had a lot of free time, and I was able to rack up 700+ hours in the game and bought myself a few skins from selling cases. Despite playing this game at 40FPS with an integrated GPU, I really enjoyed the times we played together.
I still play with these two friends, though we’ve moved on to Valorant. To be honest, we’ve only been playing for a few hours on weekends because of work, unlike before when we played almost every day.
Faction Agents and Why I Love Them
Factions in CS are basically organizations from the game’s two sides: counter-terrorists (CT) and terrorists (T). Some of these factions are based on, or draw inspiration from, real-life organizations. Examples include the FBI and SWAT soldiers on the counter-terrorist side.
I know I’m a bit late to this party, given how much this topic of the faction skins being missed, and players wishing to have them back, has already been discussed. But I want to tell you why I absolutely love these faction skins.
First, these agent skins have unique and subtle differences between them. Take the IDF CT skins, for example: some of them wear the mitznefet, an oversized helmet used to protect them from the sun, while others just have the standard green helmets. The same is true for the T factions, with different subtle variations in their masks, shades, and facial hair.
I also like how these faction agents are placed on maps based on which of them fits the map’s theme best. The pirates on the T side, for example, fit the Seaside map best, while the IDF fits desert-based and dry maps. The GSG-9, being German soldiers, are placed on maps set in Germany, like Nuke and Overpass.
It just brings that subtle realism and a nice fit to the theme, especially with their voice lines and accents.
Reasons Why They May Not Be Coming Back
When CS2 was first released, I hadn’t upgraded my PC yet, and to be honest, it became more demanding than Valorant, but my love for the game never really left.
When it was released, I immediately noticed that there were only the SAS and the Phoenix Connexion as the two player or agent skins in the game. A lot of people, including me, assumed these agents were temporary fillers, thinking Valve might be remodeling the other faction skins.
1. Real Life Controversies in these Factions
Some of these factions have actually stirred up real-life controversies.
- The Separatists (T) were a playable terrorist faction modeled after the real-life Basque separatist group ETA. During the planned release of the game in 2012, a government delegate from Basque Spain asked for its removal, but was still implented in CSGO.
- The IDF (CT) which stands for the Israel Defense Forces, were reported to have committed genocide with the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- Pirates (T) are based on real-life pirates, like the Somali pirates that are still active today.
Many more CT and T factions have real-life counterparts, raising sensitive topics that could affect Valve’s reputation and might unknowingly portray these organizations in a positive light despite their real-life negative actions.
2. More Consistent Competitive Play
Since the SAS and Phoenix agents look very similar and don’t have much variation between them, the model visuals and hitboxes are more standardized across different maps.
However, in day-to-day competitive play, purchasable agent skins can still exist, and some of these can look very bulky despite having the same hitbox as other player skins. For example, the Wet Sox CT agent is a scuba-diver-inspired skin, part of which is purely visual and doesn’t translate into actual damage when shot.
There are also some agents that appear slimmer but actually have hitboxes extending beyond what you can visually see.
If the goal is really to standardize and create more consistent competitive play, then competitive matches should disable these visually bulky or slimmer agents whose hitboxes extend beyond or fall short of what you can actually see.
3. More Attention to Purchasable Agent Skins
during the Operation Riptide event in CSGO. When CS2 came out, with the SAS being the only CT in the game, the price for it immediately went up in the Steam Community Market, peaking at almost ~$180 (PHP 11,000).
It felt like a Bitcoin investment, with that lingering feeling of “If I’d only known, I would’ve bought more!”
But this also raises the question of greed. Since there are only default skins in the game now, there’s naturally more value placed on these custom and purchasable agent skins. Bringing back the old faction skins could essentially bring the value of these skins back down.
Should They Come Back?
Reason number one is a very strong argument against bringing these agents back, and for that reason alone, it’s a no for me, no matter how much I enjoyed them back then.
Even if I think they bring so much life, lore, and a bit of realism to your gameplay on the map you’re in.
Take the Overpass and Nuke maps in CS, for example, both set in Germany. It would make sense to have German soldiers like the GSG-9, who have natural German accents and looks, rather than the SAS, who originate from the British Army.
I guess a good workaround for Valve would be to design more fictional soldier designs that fit these maps’ looks and lore.
But then again, that costs money and investment from Valve, which I doubt they’d be willing to spend just for aesthetic purposes, and just because a guy like me wants them back.
Final Thoughts
I’m honestly surprised not a lot of CS YouTubers have covered this specific topic, like WarOwl and 3kliksphilip, both of whom I used to watch often before and believe are far more deserving and knowledgeable about speaking on a topic like this.
Anyway, these were just my two cents on this topic. This game really meant a lot to me, and I think it does for a lot of people too. Again, it would be better if there were just fictional soldiers with voice actors getting the right accent and being appropriate to the actual map location.
What do you think? Are you still waiting for these faction skins to return, or do you think it’s better to have them replaced with something else? Comment down below!
Leave a Reply