Expected Release Of The Next CS:GO Operation In 2023
Almost a year has passed since the CS:GO community bid farewell to Riptide, the last Operation to be a part of the competitive shooter by Valve. Since the departure of Operation Riptide from CS:GO on February 20, 2022, the community has been eagerly looking forward to a new CS:GO Operation.
How Operations Work In CS:GO
For the unaware, Operations are a form of special in-game events in CS:GO that offer players the opportunity to play through a series of community-created maps with unique gameplay and enable them to complete various ‘missions’. Upon completion of these missions, players are rewarded with exclusive limited-time in-game items including stickers, cases, weapon skins, Agent skins, and other cosmetics. There are also several event-themed cosmetics that players can grab as rewards for participating in the Operation. The maps in Operations are generally designed to be quite challenging to average players, and often require players to work together in order to succeed. Players are scored based on how well they perform in these Operation maps, but a good score isn’t necessary to grab the associated rewards.
Overall, Operations in CS:GO offer players a unique and challenging experience, with the added incentive of exclusive in-game cosmetics. Due to these reasons, Operations have gained vast popularity within the CS:GO player base, and have also helped the game hit new milestones in terms of player count multiple times in the past.
Radio Silence From Valve
While Operations have been fairly regular in CS:GO for the past few years, the game has yet to receive a new Operation since Riptide’s release in September 2021. The looming uncertainty surrounding the next CS:GO Operation has disheartened many dedicated fans of the title, who continue to resort to various social media platforms in hopes of finding speculations about the release date of the next CS:GO Operation.
Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any official confirmation from Valve regarding the release date of the next CS:GO Operation at the time of writing. However, over the past couple of months, we’ve seen plenty of leaks from reliable sources that provide a strong indication of when it may be released.
In this article, we’re gonna take a look at the speculated release date for the next CS:GO Operation in 2023 and evaluate the leaks that have surfaced to determine a possible release timeframe.
Next CS:GO Operation Release Date: What We Know So Far
To determine the release date of the upcoming CS:GO Operation, we have to take a glance at the releases of the past few Operations first. Let’s see if we can find a pattern and try to use it to speculate the release date of the next CS:GO Operation.
Typically, CS:GO Operations are released between the months of September and December. The previous Operation, Riptide, was launched on September 21st, 2021, while Operation Broken Fang was released on December 3rd, 2020. However, CS:GO Operations releasing outside of the aforementioned time frame isn’t unheard of. For instance, Operation Hydra was released in the month of May 2017.
The next thing we should consider is the fact that every CS:GO Operation introduces a new Operation-themed weapon case to the game. The most recent weapon case to be added to the game was the Recoil Case, which was made available on July 1, 2022. This indicates that over half a year has passed since CS:GO received a new case. Usually, new cases are added to CS:GO every six to eight months, which means that we’re standing just on the brink of the release of the next CS:GO case, and potentially an Operation.
Now there’s a possibility that the next CS:GO case will not be a part of the upcoming Operation, but that chance is quite slim as it would delay the release of the Operation by several additional months.
While CS:GO data miners have dug up several game files that point to the Operation releasing in the next few weeks, there’s also a portion of the community who argue that the Operation isn’t coming anytime soon. Reputed CS:GO leaker Aquarius has listed a number of reasons on his Twitter handle for why CS:GO might not be seeing a new Operation within the next few months. Another prominent leaker, Gabe Follower, has also claimed that a new Operation could hinder or clash with the game’s transition to the new engine, Source 2.
Conclusion & Expected Release Date
From the information we’ve gathered so far, it’s not possible to say for certain when the next CS:GO Operation will drop. There’s a good chance that the Operation may drop within the next few weeks in January or February 2023, but don’t be surprised if Valve has other plans.
For the time being, fans should keep their eyes peeled for the release of the next CS:GO case, as it will likely be a part of the next Operation. In case it isn’t, then players may have to wait another six months before they get to welcome a new Operation to the game.
It’s also important to keep in mind that there have been circulating rumors about a potential release of Source 2 in the coming months. Valve may choose to release the new Operation in conjunction with the highly-anticipated launch of Source 2 in 2023, but nothing can be said for certain as of yet.
