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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will launch in China on April 18

CS:GO is on its way to China (Valve)
CS:GO is on its way to China (Valve)

In partnership with Perfect World, Valve is launching Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in China on April 18.

Yesterday, a countdown popped up on the CS:GO China page, leading many to believe that it would end in the launch of Chinese support for the game. However, it was simply a countdown to the announcement.

While Chinese players have been able to get their hands on CS:GO for a while now, the launch will mean full support from Valve and Perfect World, including official dedicated servers.

Reddit user TyroPyro posted photos of the announcement, including some information about the launch. Chinese CS:GO will feature 128 tick community servers, 64 tick matchmaking servers, and a comprehensive anti-cheating system.

When a player is banned, the ban will be linked to their Alipay (a widely-used online payment program) account and, as a result, their official personal identification number. That means anyone trying to avoid a ban by picking up a new copy of CS:GO will find their PIN banned entirely. Put simply, getting caught cheating means Chinese players won’t be able to play CS:GO until the ban is lifted.

Valve already has a strong foothold in China, with Dota 2 being one of the most popular multiplayer games in the region. However, they’ll be competing with Crossfire, the ever-popular shooter that has dominated the shooter space in Asia for years. While the two games have remarkable similarities, CS:GO has never managed to take off in the east.

There are, however, a few Chinese CS:GO teams that have made runs in the competitive scene in recent years. Most notable is TyLoo, who has dominated the Chinese scene for years and has solid showings overseas.

Make sure to head over to the Yahoo Esports CS:GO hub for more.


Follow Taylor Cocke on Twitter @taylorcocke.