Both CS GO and PUBG are considered as the classic game of their own genre. CS GO started out as a mod of Half-Life called Counter-Strike, and I think that I don't need to tell you how big Half-Life was or how it changed the whole gaming industry 20 years ago. CS GO is the most competitive multiplayer FPS game in the world at the moment.
PUBG also inspired from the ARMA 2 mod, DayZ: Battle Royale, from the same creator Brendan Greene. Since all battle royale games were using the concept of the manga Battle Royale in 2000, they were not something new. However, PUBG was the very first game that has actually gained worldwide success and started the battle royale trend all around the world. So between PUBG vs CS GO, which one should you choose?
1.Performance
CS GO was released in 2012, so the game has gone through hundreds of updates and optimizations and multiple additional modifications in Steam's launch option to further increase the FPS for low-end PCs.
Meanwhile, PUBG was only released 2 years ago. I remember when PUBG Early Access came out, the game got a million bugs and poorly optimized, even the best PCs can barely get 144 FPS consistently. PUBG is in a much better shape now but still, the game is not fully optimized yet with some bugs and cloggy physics. It's definitely not a game for people with a weak PC.
In term of performance between PUBG vs CS GO, CS GO is clearly the winner.
2.Gameplay
When choosing a game, one big consideration for many people is the difficulty level. Some like to have fun and enjoy while some prefer challenges. PUBG vs CS GO, which one requires more skill?
Each CS GO match takes place in a relatively small location with a fixed spawn spot. Two teams of five players will fight against each other to complete their own objective to win the match. The game's competitive scene has been going on for a while, which means most players have figured out the best strategies to win the game. The community has also contributed a lot of their own in-game experience, guides, walkthrough all over the internet.
There is also Steam Workshop, which has millions of custom maps and mods for training and entertainment purposes. So as a new player you shouldn't have any trouble getting used to the game. However, as your skill level increases, you will find the game is more about strategy than shooting. It's all about maps' knowledge, holding angles, using grenades, gathering information, and teamwork. CS GO also has a battle royale mode, however, it is not quite stand out as other game modes.
As for PUBG, you will drop out of a plane into an island every match so it really depends on your decision to choose your starting location. You can choose to play Solo, Duos, or Squad in either FPP or TPP. However, no matter what mode you choose, you will always have to face the overwhelming odds of almost 100 other players. The map is huge and picking loots is vary depending on your location. For each location, you will have to play and move differently, allowing you to have a unique experience every single match. You can choose to play aggressively and try to kill as many players as possible or you can choose to play safe and only fight when you have to.
However, as the map is too big, new players are likely to get frustrated and lost. The community is strong, however, most of the information is not official. The competitive scene is young so even pro players haven't figured out the very best way to play the game yet. All the random elements add one more layer to the game's depth and make the game interesting while it can be very irritating sometimes. Having a strategy is important, but many random factors will catch you by surprise lots of the time, so it's more important to be adaptive. Other than the main mode, there are also a training mode and custom maps for you to train and have some fun.
Both of these game have quite different gameplay that fit different types of players so there is no reason to compare the gameplay between PUBG vs CS GO to see which one is better.
3.Playerbase
Both PUBG and CS GO have passed their prime and are having a stable number of players now. Taken from Steam Chart, CS GO is now having more concurrent players than PUBG with 260,000 players and 180,000 players respectively, note that PUBG used to have up to 3 million players at one time. You can find a match in both games with no difficulty. However, there is a difference in the skill level when comparing PUBG vs CS GO players in each match. Since PUBG doesn't have a matchmaking system, you will often play with random people who can be an absolutely new player or a pro. While in CS GO, you will play with people who are around your level. Also, PUBG is the first shooter game for many people while most players in CS GO have at least played Counter Strike in the past.
4.Cheater
All shooter games have cheaters due to the nature of these game.
CS GO is Valve game so it is supported by VAC ( Valve Anti-Cheat System). But, realistically, there are still a lot of cheaters in the game. Furthermore, CS GO turned free-to-play recently, which allow more players to use cheat without actually losing anything.
In PUBG, the game still cost you some money, so it might cause some people to think twice before they risk their account. Also, in a 100-people game, you will likely to die because of many other reasons rather than because of cheaters. I am not saying that there aren't many cheaters in PUBG as 13 million accounts banned as of October 2018. But, you will get punished by Valve if you quit a CS GO match that has a cheater, while you can just find another match in PUBG. So I would say cheaters in PUBG is not such a too big problem as in CS GO if you are a casual player.
5.Monetization
CS GO is free now and no longer cost you $15, so you can just try it if you want. There are in-game skins that you can get by opening loot boxes with your real money. CS GO Steam market is huge with many skins from less than one dollar to thousands of dollar. You can buy/sell/trade items with other players or try your luck with betting or even make your own business by trading items.
PUBG, on the other hand, will cost you $30 or maybe $15 in sale seasons to obtain the game. You can buy loot boxes with in-game currency (BP) you get through playing. There are many nice skins that you can purchase directly with your real money from the store. You can also purchase a premium version of Survivor Pass to get more items through playing. Recently, PUBG also added more items into the store that can be bought by BP and they are trying to make BP more valuable in the game. However, the trading scene is PUBG is not very strong as you can get most items easily.
6.Conclusion
So which one should you choose, PUBG vs CS GO? That totally depends on what you want. If your PC is not so strong or you want to play a competitive FPS game with great optimization and free then go for CS GO. If you have decent enough hardware, like to explore new things, and want to have fun and unique experiences then go for PUBG. Both games are great, however, as CS GO is free, I recommend you to try it out anyway to see if you like it or not.
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