Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Winter update released, includes new maps and skins

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Winter update released, includes new maps and skins



The fairly sizeable – 2GB according to my Steam client – update for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive went live last night, with a brand spanking new landing page to celebrate. The update includes the reworked de_cbble and the new Overpass maps, the design options for which were both discussed in detail earlier.

There’s also gifts, befitting considering the season. “The Winter Offensive Update is shipping with three types of gifts for the giving: the Gift Package, which will give a random item to one random player in your match; the Pallet of Presents, which will give random items to up to nine people in your match; and the Audience Participation Parcel, which will give random items to up to 25 viewers watching your match.” The audience participation panel, incidentally, refers to the in-game ability to watch other matchmaking games; I’ve seen a couple of Australian games with over 100 viewers, so this award shouldn’t be too difficult to pick up if you play regularly.

The Winter Offensive Case comes with some new weapon skins straight from the CS:GO Workshop, while the crowdfunding eSports cases continue with the eSports Winter Case. As before, a portion of proceeds from the latter goes towards CS:GO tournament prize pools.

The Winter case and the eSports Winter case are trading for around US$4.50 and US$3 on the Steam Market right now, so if you pick one up it might be a good time to sell it off early. After all, that money goes straight into your Steam wallet, which, you know, you could use to buy other Steam things. Like games.