Anyone who has played Counter Strike: Global Offensive has heard of CSGO operations. These events play a huge role in the history of the game and have been a huge part of the whole experience since the first one was introduced. To be a full-fledged member of the community, you ought to be aware of their history and most iconic releases. That’s why today we present a list of operations that everyone should know.
What are CSGO operations?
Operations are events organized by Valve, which are based around community-created content. As a form of DLC that is typical of Counter Strike, they provide players with the opportunity to try out new items, including:
- special missions
- community-created maps
- skin collections
- stickers and graffiti
- patches
- weapon crates
The first-ever operation lasted from April 26, 2013 to August 31, 2013 and it was Operation Payback. These events usually run for a few months, during which players can complete missions and collect rewards for them. Nevertheless, there have been cases when Valve decided to extend them significantly in order to provide community members with more time to obtain exclusive content.
The best part of CSGO operations is that because they rely on community-created content, a large portion of the earnings from pass sales go to community designers, making it a great way for Counter Strike players to support the biggest contributors.
How many operations have there been?
In the first years of Operation releases, they appeared regularly, with a short monthly break in between. Unfortunately, this changed after Operation Bloodhound in 2015. Currently, the last operation took place in 2022 and it was Operation Riptide. According to reports, Valve is not working on any new project of this type, which is mainly due to the company’s plans to port Counter Strike to their state-of-the-art game engine, Source 2.
Since 2023, there have been a total of 11 operations and they were:
- Operation Payback:
April 25, 2013 – August 31, 2013
- Operation Bravo:
September 19, 2013 – February 5, 2014
- Operation Phoenix
February 20, 2014 – June 11, 2014
- Operation Breakout:
July 1, 2014 – October 2, 2014
- Operation Vanguard:
November 11, 2014 – March 31, 2015
- Operation Bloodhound:
May 26, 2015 – October 1, 2015
- Operation Wildfire
February 17, 2016 – July 15, 2016
- Operation Hydra:
May 23, 2017 – November 13, 2017
- Operation Shattered Web:
November 18, 2019 – March 31, 2020
- Operation Broken Fang:
December 3, 2020 – May 3, 2021
- Operation Riptide:
September 21, 2021 – February 21, 2022
As of 2023, no new operations have been released.
Top 3 Counter Strike Operations
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s talk about some of our favorite operations and those that have become sort of iconic in the Counter Strike community. In addition, we’ll show you our favorite weapon skins that were released as part of these events.
Operation Breakout
Operation Breakout was one of the first operations ever released, as it started on July 1, 2014 and ended more than three months later on October 2, 2014. It introduced 6 new maps and 3 skin collections:
- Baggage Collection
- Overpass Collection
- Cobble Collection
Moreover, it made history as the first operation to include operation missions, thus sealing its iconic status. Our favorite skins introduced as part of this event are:
Glock-18 Water Elemental
- Flavor text: none
- First added: 1 July 2014
- Lowest Steam Price: $2.97
- Highest Steam Price: $10.68
Nova Koi
- Flavor text: Sebastien is coming for me Valeria… we don’t have much time – Chase Turner, Coalition Defector
- First added: 1 July 2014
- Lowest Steam Price: $0.48
- Highest Steam Price: $1.01
M4A1-S Cyrex
- Flavor text: none
- First added: 1 July 2014
- Lowest Steam Price: $11.96
- Highest Steam Price: $27.60
Operation Shattered Web
The next operation on our list is Operation Shattered Web. It was released on November 18, 2019 and lasted almost half a year, as it ended on March 31, 2020. Its content included 4 new maps and 3 collections, namely:
- St.Marc
- Norse
- Canals
Interestingly, it was the only collection in the history of all events that included a battle pass track.
Our favorite weapon skins included in the event were:
AWP Containment Breach
- Flavor text: Who knows what radioactive diseases they carry…
- First added: 18 November 2019
- Lowest Steam Price: $41.39
- Highest Steam Price: $395.85
AUG Arctic Wolf
- Flavor text: Every round is a 1v5
- First added: 18 November 2019
- Lowest Steam Price: $1.04
- Highest Steam Price: $4.89
MP7 Neon Ply
- Flavor text: Roy G. Biv? Never heard of ’em.”
- First added: 18 November 2019
- Lowest Steam Price: $0.70
- Highest Steam Price: $4.84
Operation Hydra
Operation Hydra was the predecessor to Operation Shattered Web, as it was released on May 23, 2017 and ended on November 13, 2017. It introduced 6 community-created maps, 3 game modes and 6 skin collections, including some of the most iconic sets in Counter Strike history.
- Cobblestone
- Cache
- Overpass
- Gods & Monsters
- The Rising Sun
- Chop Shop
The three game modes introduced as part of the operation were called Hydra Events and were:
- Wingman
- Weapon Expert
- War Games
As for our favorite weapon skins included in Operation Hydra, these were:
Five-SeveN Hyper Beast
- Flavor text: We’re all monsters
- First added: 23 May 2017
- Lowest Steam Price: $19.22
- Highest Steam Price: $101.93
AWP Oni Taiji
- Flavor text: Face your demons
- First added: 18 November 2019
- Lowest Steam Price: $176.94
- Highest Steam Price: $488.25
USP-S Blueprint
- Flavor text: Sometimes the best-laid plans go awry
- First added: 18 November 2019
- Lowest Steam Price: $4.55
- Highest Steam Price: $32.47
Operation Broken Fang
Operation Broken Fang is one of the latest developments in Counter Strike: Global Offensive. It launched on December 3, 2020 and ended 6 months later, on May 3, 2021. It introduced 6 maps, 4 weapon collections and 2 new game modes, one of which was the infamous Broken Fang Premier, which was originally only available to those who bought the Operation Pass, but later was made accessible to all CS:GO players.
The collections included in the event were:
- Havoc
- Control
- Ancient
Our favorite skins from the Operation Broken Fang Weapon Case are:
Glock-18 Neo Noir
- Flavor text: “Things were starting to turn and she began to feel hope—then she looked up”
- First added: 3 December 2020
- Lowest Steam Price: $4.99
- Highest Steam Price: $51.62
SSG-08 Parallax
- Flavor text: Shoot twice, kill once
- First added: 3 December 2020
- Lowest Steam Price: $1.29
- Highest Steam Price: $3.63
AWP Exoskeleton
- Flavor text: We’re all monsters
- First added: 3 December 2020
- Lowest Steam Price: $7.82
- Highest Steam Price: $1.33
Conclusions
CS:GO operations are a huge part of the Counter Strike experience, and players are always excited when a new one comes out. Although Valve hasn’t introduced a new event in a long time, it’s always nice to remember all the previous operations. These 11 updates were not only accompanied by tremendous excitement, but most importantly, they supported the CS:GO community by allowing some of its biggest contributors to make money from Operation passes. If you’re not familiar with some of the releases included in our list, be sure to read our article and catch up on Counter Strike’s history.
A true gaming enthusiast, especially Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Rust. At SkinsMonkey, he is involved in creating game guides based on his own experience.
