DigiDay broke the news on social media before FaZe Clan itself confirmed the mass exodus, citing the move as part of its efforts to "align our cost structure with our focused near-term priorities around brand sponsorship and esports growth."

This revelation is making fans worry about the future of the esports organization. It's particularly concerning as FaZe Clan a team known for its performance in online games. It currently fields one of the best CS:GO lineups that pulled in the $1.2 million prize purse for winning the ESL Pro League Season 17 and the Intel Grand Slam Season 4 in March. If the company is firing employees amidst a successful run for one of their teams, some are concerned that the days of the organization's star-studded lineups are numbered.

However, this isn't unusual in esports teams. Most grow up very fast after a massive influx of cash. Many underestimate the costs of running the organization, resulting in what's currently happening to FaZE Clan. 

Even so, we can't just deny that the optics of what's going on in FaZe Clan doesn't paint a good picture. The stock price has since bottomed out from its $725 million valuation last year as it's currently listed at $0.59 after opening at $13 a share.

FaZe Clan is assuring fans that they're not going away at all. Despite all the negative news, FaZe Clan's name as well as its reputation still have to mean something, especially in esports. Thus, it will keep trying. Investors are also expected to trust FaZe Clan to weather the storm.

Only will tell if FaZe Clan can bounce back and make a good run, or so to speak.

Speaking of Counter-Strike, a sequel to Valve's popular online shooter is currently undergoing testing. Counter-Strike 2 is expected to launch sometime later this year.

The Black Market pack, which arrives on April 12, is a homage to Counter-Strike. It's Riot's way of telling VALORANT players, "don't worry, you can have CS:GO in VALORANT as well."

Unlike the typical VALORANT skin, the Black Market bundle comes with five transforming cosmetics that approximate their Counter-Strike equivalents as close as possible.

Case in point:

• The Vandal = AK-47
• The Bulldog = FAMAS
• The Marshal = Scout
• The Classic = Glock-18
• The Knife = Butterfly Knife

Even if Riot might end up denying the coincidence, it's clear that it wants VALORANT players to switch sides or stay.

Don't forget, Valve recently announced Counter-Strike 2 ahead of its release later this year.

As for the community reactions to the CS:GO skins in VALORANT, Tarik "Tarik" Celik, a former CS:GO pro who spent years in the competitive circuit before transitioning to content creation in VALORANT, called the bundle as "literally skin from CS".

If nothing else, the new bundle represents a potential change in Riot's plans going forward. After eschewing "simple" skins, VALORANT might get more "normal-looking" cosmetics if these end up selling well. 

More importantly, the Black Market pack might be a sign that Riot has figured out how to let players swap out skins in the middle of a match. In the past, VALORANT developer, Sean Marino, explained on Reddit that VALORANT doesn't have such skins due to potential performance issues. However, this is the selling point of the Black Market bundle; the skin changes appearance when you're attacking or defending.

With that said, it'll be interesting to see what kind of content changes Riot will become more open to once Counter-Strike is out.

Speaking of Counter-Strike 2, Valve is warning the public about beta admissions scams. Finally, Counter-Strike 2 will also take advantage of an anti-lag technology like VALORANT.

In case you missed it, your chance to get sought-after weapon skins for your collection started on April 5 (or April 6, depending on where you live). But, unlike the previous Night Market dates, the latest schedule will last until April 25, which is close to three weeks.

Check out the official announcement below:

With dusk, comes deals. Night. Market’s right around the corner

https://t.co/zGk78GR3so pic.twitter.com/JdKVIkz8te

— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) March 30, 2023

To access the Night Market, all you need to do is to log into the game once it's open. You'll get prompted on the left-hand side of the main menu to go to the Night Market. You can also click on the Tarot card symbol at the top right corner of the screen to access the Night Market.

The Night Market gives Valorant players a chance to purchase six random weapon skins at an affordable price. The Night Market also lets players trade in old skins. The best part is that, while you can't change the collection, the random weapon skins won't include anything that you already own. Riot started the Night Market in Episode 1 Act 3 and it doesn't look like the developers will stop any time soon.

In addition to already existing Night Market collections, the current Night Market selection for Episode 6 Act 2 is as follows:

• Ion Ep 5 (Episode 5, Act 3)
• Soulstrife (Episode 5, Act 3)
• Abyssal (Episode 5, Act 3)
• Cryostasis (Episode 5, Act 3)

The end of the ongoing Night Market confirms the speculations about when Episode 6 Act 3 will start.

The upcoming Valorant update is huge for plenty of reasons but the biggest one is the release of the global open beta for Valorant Premier. This is the game's built-in path to helping players become a professional.

As of the moment, a little over 1.1 million people are playing CS:GO. The last time CS:GO hit these many players was close to two years ago. However, what's even more amazing is the game peaked at 1,507,212, as per SteamDB.

The best part is that this is arguably just the culmination of a months-long resurgence in the popularity of CS:GO.

A closer look at the data shows that CS:GO has maintained a million-strong player count since December 8. This is the first time the game's concurrent players didn't go below a million in three years. The last time it happened was from March 5, 2020, through May 28, 2020, when it peaked at 1,308,963 players.

If this doesn't encourage Valve to release Team Fortress 3, we don't know what will.

Kidding aside, the hype surrounding Counter-Strike 2 likely fueled the game's latest record-setting surge.

Valve basically told players that the only way to get into the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test is to play on official Valve servers, have zero bans, and be an upstanding citizen. Official playtime is likely a key metric, which explains why hundreds of thousands of players are logging onto CS:GO in hopes of getting invited.

While this week was huge for Counter-Strike, most are expecting an even bigger explosion once Counter-Strike 2 is out. A lot of fans speculate that Counter-Strike 2 will smash through the concurrent player record quite easily, with some betting that it will break the two-million mark.

The most recent peak player count of CS:GO on Steam establishes it firmly on the No. 2 spot ahead of Lost Ark (1.3 million) and Dota 2 (1.29 million).

Despite the expected boom in popularity of Counter-Strike 2 once it's officially released, it's highly unlikely it will break the record set by PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS in 2018 with 3.2 million concurrent players.

Valve recently and very characteristically confirmed that Counter-Strike 2 is coming out later this year. In the same announcement, the infamously casual private video game developer revealed that Counter-Strike 2 is currently undergoing a Limited Test run exclusive to a handful of players.

Unfortunately, a lot of players didn't get an invite, resulting in many to wonder how to get one. This also gave rise to scammers looking to prey on on gullible Counter-Strike players by "selling" fake Limited Test keys.

Valve is now warning players not to fall victim to such scams. The company clarified it's the only one capable of granting a player access to the Limited Test for Counter-Strike 2. It also dispels rumors that Limited Test keys exist. The Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test is an option found on the original CS:GO main menu for qualified players.

Valve never sent email invites or Steam notifications to let players know they have been invited to the Limited Test.

Beware of scams. The only way to check for Limited Test access is to launch CS:GO through Steam and check the Main Menu.

Do not log into third party sites claiming to check your Steam account for access or offering Limited Test access or keys; there are no Limited Test keys.

— CS2 (@CounterStrike) March 22, 2023

If you're not lucky enough to get Limited Test access to Counter-Strike 2, don't worry. Valve promises to invite multiple new waves of players to the Limited Test phase until Counter-Strike 2 is out in Summer of 2023.

So, if nothing else, you'll have plenty more opportunities to get invited.

Valve is ramping up its production of new stuff in recent years. After the release of the Steam Deck last year, Valve promises that a new Steam Deck is in the pipeline way into the future.

In addition to this, Valve is reportedly working on a DOTA spin-off. Finally, with multiple more titles secretly in development, Valve might let us in on some of its mystery projects later this year after Counter-Strike 2 hits the market.

The Janitor Valve confirmed the Source 2 upgrade for Counter-Strike out of nowhere, not with an announcement, but with a series of unprompted video uploads on its YouTube channel.

As if Valve couldn't be bothered to ask ChatGPT to help it detail every change that's coming to Counter-Strike 2, audiences instead got three short videos showcasing everything from tick rates to the maps, as well as a complete rework of mechanics in the game.

Valve later published a blog post detailing the changes coming to the free CS:GO upgrade and the Limited Test, which, as the name suggests, gives select users a glimpse of the new version.

Valve is describing Counter-Strike 2 as the "largest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike's history" while also promising that it will receive "updates for years to come."

Unfortunately, the eligibility criteria for the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test remains murky at best, as is usually the case with Valve. It's reportedly based on several factors like recent playtime on official servers, trust factor, and the standing of your Steam account. Naturally, Valve didn't send Counter-Strike 2 invites to players who've gotten banned from CS:GO at some point in the past.

According to Valve, the Limited Test will let players use existing in-game skins and cosmetics. Unfortunately, you're limited to playing only against other players in the Limited Test. As of the time of writing, the available modes for the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test are Deathmatch and Unranked Competitive matchmaking exclusively on Dust2. However, Valve will add more maps and game modes as the Limited Test progresses.

Don't worry if you didn't get in the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test. Valve plans to bring in more players until Counter-Strike 2 is out this summer. As long as you keep on the good graces of Valve, you should get your invite sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, your best bet to knowing more about Counter-Strike 2 is to find a content creator or streamer.

After much teasing, Counter-Strike 2 is finally here. We're curious to find out what else Valve has planned after releasing a much-awaited update for its most-played game. Who knows? Maybe Half-Life 3 and/or Portal 3 are next in the pipeline.

At this point last year, Valve revealed that it was working on multiple "pretty exciting" projects, with a later datamine revealing at least four.

If Counter-Strike 2 and the unannounced Dota spin-off are part of the four-part lineup, we'd love to know more about the other two soon.

The first day of qualification for the Olympic Esports 2023 Series was March 1. Players from all over the world, both pros as well as amateurs, were invited to take part in qualification rounds for each of the games. Participants who can complete the qualification stage will get a chance to compete at the Olympic Esports Week from June 22–25 in Singapore. The four-day event will be streamed live on Olympics.com and Olympics social channels.

The Olympic Esports 2023 Series will feature nine events based on traditional sports. These include:

• Archery: Tic Tac Bow (Begins Spring 2023)
• Baseball: eBaseball: Power Pros (Begins March 27)
• Chess: Chess.com (Begins April 1)
• Cycling: Zwift (TBC)
• Dance: Just Dance 2023 (TBC)
• Motor Sport: Gran Turismo 7 (Begins April 13)
• Sailing: Virtual Regatta (Begins March 17)
• Taekwondo: Virtual Taekwondo (TBC)
• Tennis: Tennis: Clash (TBC)

Even though the qualification process for the nine events has not been clarified by the IOC, it has been confirmed that Gran Turismo 7 qualification will be conducted on a specially-designed Olympic Esports Series track, where participants will compete in an online time trial to set their best time.

The Olympic Esports Series is a follow-up to the successful 2021 Olympic Virtual Series, which featured five events including motor sport (Gran Turismo), baseball (eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball 2020), cycling (Zwift), rowing (Virtual Regatta), and sailing (Virtual Regatta).

Speaking of Gran Turismo, game developer Polyphony Digital is working on the next installment of the popular racing sim. According to Kazunori Yamauchi, the creator of the game, development on the next title in the series has already begun.

Capcom Pro Tour 2023 will up the stakes by putting up $2 million in prize money, with $1 million going to the winner of the next Capcom Cup - the final event of the said tournament. The best part is that the Capcom Pro Tour series will make Street Fighter 6 as its exclusive game and, as per Event Hubs, this year's tournament will integrate online events - the first in the series.

@xfire.com

Capcom Pro Tour 2023 to put up more than $2 million in prize money #capcom #capcomprotour #streetfighter6 #fyp #foryou #viral #trending

♬ original sound - Xfire - Xfire

When you consider that the prize pool of the 2022 Pro Tour and Capcom Cup IX was $300,000, $2 million is a huge jump. It's also telling that Capcom is adding online events to the mix, which is a sign that Capcom is confident in the netcode of Street Fighter 6. It's worth noting that this was one of the biggest issues that plagued Street Fighter V for years, bringing it down a notch in our round-up of fighting games.

Going back to the topic of the prize pool, by infusing the fighting scene with this much money, Capcom is upping the ante and effectively forcing other publishers to keep up.

It will be interesting to see if Nintendo and Sony, the latter of which owns EVO Japan, will also try and raise their prize pools as well.

Finally, with the announcement, we're expecting Street Fighter 6 to sell well as audiences flock to it in droves when it's out on June 2. Don't be surprised if several aspiring pros, established names, and even streamers, jump on the bandwagon later this year.

Twitch streamer and content creator for Luminosity Gaming Jay3, who is a former professional Overwatch player, decided to put this gaming myth to the test. He organized a special crossplay show match top console gamers and team WISP from the Overwatch Contenders League. Just to be clear, that's an international esports league for Overwatch that serves as a developmental league and the tier-two competition scene for aspiring Overwatch professional players. Those players are under contract with all benefits secured, who regularly train and scrimmage as a team while playing on PC.

Thank you to @ConsoleGamingLG

Console@VinnieLaGOON @Hcpeful @Afersie @happiharv @Delenaafps @WorthShatter

PC WISP@jbubs12_ @ChopperOW1 @Rokitow @fixblu @YimitraOW @Aniyun_

AND THANK YOU @JakeSucky (he doesn't follow bc I stream OW)

(SORRY IF I MISSED ANYONE)

— LG Jay3 (@Jay3OW) January 13, 2023

But you wouldn't be able to notice that glaring of a difference in gameplay quality despite a 3-1 map result in favor of the PC team. Many expected the PC team to wipe the floor with a console squad that didn't have the time to practice after two last-minute substitutions, but the game was a lot closer than the score would suggest. This left Overwatch 2 fans in awe considering that the hero shooter, like many other competitive first-person multiplayer shooters, is more suited towards PC gaming despite being available on Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch among others.

Opening up the first to three wins series on the map Oasis with the console team in blue and the amateur pros on WISP in red, the console team stood its ground. After an early stalemate with both teams taking turns one-shotting each other and negating advantages, the PC team squeaked out a win. The console team was able to even the series out on the second map, Hollywood, whipping out a Pharah-Mercy comp that earned POTG honors when they captured point A with a damage-boosted Rocket Barrage.

But the dream ended after WISP’s PC team took two consecutive maps to close it out with a 3-1 score. Despite this, the console squad’s performance was not something to be overlooked and Jay3, the host, let it be known ”I came into this not liking console because I’m a PC player, but I respect console. That was a really intense and fun few games that I just witnessed!”

The competitive scene in Overwatch is due for a comeback after Blizzard confirmed its plans to revive the Overwatch World Cup in 2023, which should be a turbulent year for all of Microsoft’s subsidiaries with the trouble surrounding its Blizzard acquisition deal and Xbox losing a development team.

The recent announcement came at the Legends Battle tournament in South Korea. The dev team and notable faces in the community were ecstatic to reveal the return of the game's foremost tournament after a 3-year hiatus. The United States won its first cup in 2019 after four years of competition, by defeating China 3-0, but a lot has changed since. Overwatch as an esport has experienced significant turmoil with team size being taken from 6 down to 5 with Overwatch 2 and the release of Valorant.

THE OVERWATCH WORLD CUP IS BACK FOR 2023!

36 teams
36 countries and regions
1 champion.

The epic journey kicks off next month. Are you prepared?

Get the full rundown : https://t.co/eKcSF12RFd pic.twitter.com/5yEQqDgY7t

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) December 17, 2022

36 countries from across the world will participate in the return of the Overwatch World Cup with their announcement coming in January 2023. Throughout the first three years of the competition, in which South Korea took home the trophy, the format was fairly simple. The teams were formed using a popularity vote, with Overwatch players voting for their favorite player from each country and region. The top six teams qualified directly to the Overwatch World Cup group stage, with another 50 teams competing through a Play-In stage bracket for the remaining positions.

In 2019, the Overwatch World Cup was later split into three stages, with any country being able to participate in the opening preliminary stage.

The road to crowning the 2023 Overwatch World Cup Champion kicks off next month And it’s gonna be a wild ride

Get the full rundown : https://t.co/eKcSF0LggD pic.twitter.com/qFFxJpB2eD

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) December 17, 2022

The 2023 Overwatch World Cup's format appears to be more complex. The tournament will follow the same three-stage format due to administrative purposes, with qualifiers, a group stage, and the Grand Finals. The key difference is that the process will kick off long before the World Cup Qualifiers begin in June 2023.

The first stage of the upcoming Overwatch World Cup will include selecting 36 nations and regions, as well as creating regional teams through committee applications. Following the tryouts and team selections, the Overwatch 2 World Cup Trials will take place. The World Cup Qualifiers will kick off in June 2023, where 36 teams from across the world will battle it out through 6 regional qualifying events. Only 16 of them will advance to the group stage, which will feature a round-robin format. The top 8 teams will advance to the Overwatch 2 World Cup Finals, taking place in the autumn of 2023.

Blizzard's interesting approach could rejuvenate the scene as it includes professional and ranked players. Creating committees and competing on an international stage should help players make a name for themselves and receive exposure. It might also help lesser-known regions and countries make an impact on the global Overwatch stage. Many hope this will lead to the most competitive international event in Overwatch history and reignite fan interest in the competitive scene.