Counter-Strike: Global Offensive now charges £10.89 for access to ranked Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive now charges £10.89 for access to ranked Bad actors. News by Wesley Yin-Poole Deputy Editorial Director Updated on 4 Jun 2021 17 comments New Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players now need to pay for ranked play, Valve has announced. Previously, new players of the free-to-play competitive first-person shooter had access to drops, ranks, skill groups, and a free path to Prime (paid) matchmaking. Watch on YouTube Eurogamer News Cast: will Sony's cross-gen U-turn hold PS5 games back? Valve said that over time, these benefits had become "an incentive for bad actors to hurt the experience of both new and existing players". Now, new players have a different offering. They can still play every game mode, play on community servers and play workshop maps, but they will no longer receive XP, ranks, drops, or skill groups. Those features are now exclusively available to Prime Status players, Valve said. The Prime Status upgrade costs £10.89. New players can still upgrade to Prime by purchasing the Prime Status upgrade from the Steam store, but there is no longer a free path to Prime. (If you buy the upgrade in the next two weeks, your current skill group and XP progress will carry over.) It's a clear attempt to tackle cheating in CS:GO ranked. Prior to this update, players who Valve banned for cheating could simply create a new account and progress enough with it to achieve Prime status and, from there, cheat in CS:GO ranked lobbies. Theoretically, with this update Prime ranked lobbies should see less cheating - assuming the £10.89 paywall is enough of a deterrent of course. Valve also announced unranked. Now, when new players play Competitive, Wingman, and Danger Zone, their matches will still use skill-based matchmaking, but players will not earn a skill group. Prime players can also play unranked matches, where their skill group will not be affected and where there are no lobby skill group restrictions. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 3 Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 13 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 3 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store