Valve continue to tweak their classic free to play shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The latest update improves various parts of the game and there's some fancy new weapon skins.
The Counter-Strike Professional Players' Association has today announced that it's partnering with two UK universities to conduct a study into the mental health of esports pros.
The body, which was set up to improve working conditions and industry standards in the competitive CS:GO scene, is looking into the impact competing in esports has on someone's mental health. Alongside the University of Winchester and the University of Chichester, it will create a survey that will, according to a statement, "provide a comprehensive examination of the factors influencing mental health in professional esports players, specifically in CS:GO."
The impetus for doing this study is likely a result of a number of high-profile CS:GO players taking periods of leave or stepping away from rosters due to the negative effects of competing, such as stress, burnout, and other mental health issues. Astralis duo Andreas 'Xyp9x' Højsleth and Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossander have both taken medical leave this year, and former in-game leader for Team Vitality Alex 'ALEX' McMeekin has also stepped away from competing due to exhaustion and burnout.
RELATED LINKS:
CS:GO caster Moses joins Team Liquid as head coach
New CS:GO weapons case adds 17 community designed skins
FaZe reportedly replacing CS:GO stand-in Bymas with Kjaerbye
Tournament organiser BLAST is starting to see more and more prominent figures in the Counter-Strike community speak out against its partnership with Saudi government-backed venture NEOM - and some on-screen talent are now refusing to work with the company until the partnership ends.
BLAST's deal with NEOM - a project to build a future-proof, technologically-advanced mega city in Saudi Arabia - has caused uproar as it is funded by the Saudi Crown Prince and his government, who have a chequered history when it comes to human rights violations and treatment of journalists, LGBTQ people, and women. The partnership goes further than just brand exposure too, as BLAST will act as advisers to the NEOM project, who want the city to include an esports academy.
While the deal was announced over a week ago now, CS:GO casters and on-screen talent have now come together to take a stance against the deal, and are refusing to work future BLAST events while it is still partnered with NEOM.
RELATED LINKS:
CS:GO caster Moses joins Team Liquid as head coach
New CS:GO weapons case adds 17 community designed skins
FaZe reportedly replacing CS:GO stand-in Bymas with Kjaerbye
Professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Jacob 'Pimp' Winneche has officially announced his retirement from CS:GO via Twitter, revealing that he will be moving into full-time CS:GO content creation rather than competitive play.
It's been two years since Pimp last competed, and has been working more as a CS:GO analyst in the past couple of years. He still plans to retain his work on the analytical side of the game, but has now drawn a firm line under his competitive career, moving on for good.
Pimp stresses in his statement that the decision had nothing to do with his feelings towards CS:GO, and that in fact he would be able to "dedicate even more time to CS: GO!" Instead, Pimp points to the excess travel of his current role (240 days on the road last year), and says the pandemic had forced him to "reinvent himself," something he'll look to do as he pivots towards content creation and turns his back on the possibility of rejoining the pro scene.
RELATED LINKS:
New CS:GO weapons case adds 17 community designed skins
FaZe reportedly replacing CS:GO stand-in Bymas with Kjaerbye
CS:GO pros' mental health to be put under the spotlight in new university study
Looks like Valve did a bit of a woopsie. With the recent updates to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive they implemented a new anti-cheat tool with Trusted Mode but it appears at some point they forgot to enable it.
