What Are CS:GO and CS2 Operations?
Operations are time-limited events that bring new missions, maps, skins, and other interesting content to the game that are available through an operation pass. Players can complete missions, earning rewards such as unique weapon skins and operation coins.
Operation Playback (25.04.2013-31.08.2013)
The first ever operation appeared in CS:GO in mid-2013. This event marked a significant shift in how Valve engaged with its community, introducing a system where players could purchase a pass to access a curated selection of community-created maps. Priced at $5.99, the pass granted unlimited access to a playlist featuring seven maps, all hosted on dedicated servers. Notably, 100% of the proceeds from the pass sales were directed to the map creators, fostering a sense of community support and recognition.
Maps featured in operation Playback:
Downtown
Favela
Library
Motel
Museum
Seaside
Thunder
The operation medal deserves a special mention. It’s a cosmetic item that tracked players' progress during the event. Players could earn different tiers of the coin based on their playtime:
Bronze: Granted upon purchasing the pass.
Silver: Earned after 10 hours (600 minutes) of playtime on Operation maps.
Gold: Achieved after 50 hours (3000 minutes) of playtime on Operation maps.
Operation Payback set a precedent for future CS:GO operations, establishing a model where community contributions were recognized and rewarded.
Operation Bravo (19.09.2013-05.02.2014)
Operation Bravo was the second operation in CS:GO, following Operation Payback. The new operation included 8 maps when it launched, mostly from community creators:
Agency
Ali
Cache
Chinatown
Gwalior
Ruins
Siege
Seaside
Later, through the Winter Offensive Update, Overpass and Cobblestone were added to the Bravo map pool. These two maps were created by Valve and later became part of the Active Duty Map group.
Operation Bravo introduced two skin collections: Alpha and Bravo. The Bravo Case itself was a new item tied to this operation, which added new weapon finishes in a case drop. And as always, Valve introduced the special operation coin, which could be upgraded by matching specific criteria.
Notable skins from Operation Bravo Case:
Operation Phoenix (20.02.2014-11.06.2014)
The operation brought back eight community maps chosen by player votes—maps from previous operations (Payback & Bravo). These were playable in all modes: Competitive, Casual, and Deathmatch.
The eight maps included in Operation Phoenix were:
Cache
Motel
Seaside
Downtown
Thunder
Ali
Favela
Agency
The Phoenix Case introduced skins that became iconic and are still widely recognized among the community. And of course, they didn’t forget about the coin.
Notable skins from Operation Phoenix Case:
Operation Breakout (1.07.2014-2.10.2024)
The fourth operation in CS:GO history brought not only coins, maps and cases, but also a new content. New with this operation were mission drops. These missions had objectives (for example, get a certain number of kills with a specific weapon, winning rounds, etc.). Completing them awarded weapon skin drops from the new collections. Players could have up to 2 missions at once, and if stuck, could delete one to take another.
Six new community-created maps were added, available to all players:
Black Gold (Bomb Defusal)
Castle (Bomb Defusal)
Insertion (Hostage Rescue)
Mist (Bomb Defusal)
Overgrown (Bomb Defusal)
Rush (Bomb Defusal)
Weapon Collections:
Baggage
Cobblestone
Overpass
The Breakout Case was introduced as part of the rewards; this case included community-designed skins. Also notable: the Butterfly Knife was first made available during this operation.
Over its duration, it became one of the most played operations up to that point: players collectively spent over 10 million hours on the Breakout maps.
Notable skins from Operation Breakout Case:
Operation Vanguard (12.11.2014-31.03.2015)
This operation introduced a mission/campaign system. Pass holders got access to two base campaigns (“Weapon Specialist” and “Vanguard”) with a set number of weekly missions. Optional campaigns (“Maghreb” and “Eurasia”) could also be purchased for extra missions. Completing sequences of missions granted Challenge Stars and allowed upgrading the Vanguard Challenge Coin. All players (even without the pass) got free access to six community maps in casual, deathmatch, and competitive modes. These maps were:
Backalley
Bazaar
Facade
Marquis
Season
Workout
As always, Valve introduced the Operation Case, featuring 14 new skins. Because missions dropped skins from both the new case and older/retired collections, Vanguard had some noticeable impacts on skin prices and availability.
Notable skins from Operation Vanguard Case:
Operation Bloodhound (26.05.2015-1.10.2015)
Operation Bloodhound became the most-played operation up to that point. Tens of millions of hours played, many missions completed, huge amounts of different content: maps, new cases, collections.
Overall, there were 6 community maps, which added to the competitive map pool:
Agency
Resort
Zoo
Log
Rails
Season
The game received two new campaigns with 62 missions in total, giving XP and other mission‐based rewards.
The new brand case had 16 skins and the Falchion Knife. There were also exclusive weapon collections for pass holders: Cobblestone, Cache, Overpass, plus new ones like Gods and Monsters, The Rising Sun, Chop Shop.
In conclusion, the profiling-rank system changed how rewards were tied to weekly rank-ups, which some players liked and others criticized.
Notable skins from Falchion Case:
Operation Wildfire (17.02.2016-15.07.2016)
Wildfire is often remembered by the community as one of the more feature-rich and balanced operations: it had co-op missions, meaningful rewards (knife + case), and engaging campaigns.
Pass holders got access to the Wildfire Case which included 16 skins and the new Bowie Knife. During the operation, drop pools for pass holders included items from several existing collections:
Cobblestone
Cache
Overpass
Gods and Monsters
Chop Shop
Rising Sun.
But the most important update was reworked map de_nuke. It was reintroduced in the map pool (available in Competitive, Casual, and other modes) as part of the Operation Wildfire map group.
Notable skins from Wildfire Case:
Operation Hydra (23.05-13.11.2017)
After the operation ended, some modes, maps, and features from Hydra remained permanently or semi-permanently in CS:GO. For example, popular game modes like Wingman and Flying Scoutsman, and maps like Agency, Austria, Shipped etc., entered into the regular map pools in various match types.
Overall, Valve introduced three new game modes during Hydra operation:
War Games
Wingman
Weapons Expert
7 community maps were included in this operation (4 new, 3 returning):
Austria
Lite
Thrill
Shipped
Agency
Insertion
Black Gold
Players could get drops from certain “Operation Collections” (Cobblestone, Cache, Overpass, Gods and Monsters, The Rising Sun, Chop Shop) and also earn the Operation Hydra Case, which contains community-designed skins (rare special items included “gloves”).
Notable skins from Hydra Case:
Operation Shattered Web (19.11.2019-31.03.2020)
This operation was one of the most scandal in the history of CS:GO. Some players criticized Shattered Web for its price ($15) versus the content, mission variety, and the pace of progression.
For the first time in CS:GO, players could unlock new agents: both CT- and T-side characters with distinct models. These are cosmetic, not replacing base models, but can be used across maps. There are 22 agents in various tiers (Distinguished, Exceptional, Superior, Master).
Valve also presented a case and three new skin collections: Canals, Norse and St.Marc. If we talk about maps, also new, brand ones were introduced:
Lunacy
Jungle
Studio
It’s also a first operation with battle pass–style format with missions and unlockable rewards rather than just map drops.
Notable skins from Shattered Web Case:
Operation Broken Fang (03.12.2020-3.05.2021)
The 10th operation in CS:GO, Broken Fang, was criticized by players because of mission variety, value etc. As the previous one, the cost was $15, It ran for 16 weeks of missions and was active until April 30, 2021. Players had some grace period after to claim earned rewards.
Operation Broken Fang introduced seven new maps plus changes to existing ones:
Ancient
Engage
Apollo
Frostbite
Guard
Elysion
Cache (Reworked)
The key features of operation were new game modes:
Broken Fang Premier: A new mode available only to Operation Pass holders. It’s 5v5 competitive matchmaking, with map pick and ban phases before match start.
Retakes: This is a fast-paced mode in which 3 Terrorists defend a planted bomb, while 4 Counter-Terrorists try to defuse it. Each round the players pick from preselected loadouts. First to 8 rounds wins. Available to all players.
Weekly Missions & Operation Stars: Players get a new mission card each week; completing missions earns stars. Stars can be spent in the Operation’s store to choose rewards. Pass owners get full reward access
Skin Collection: new Broken Fang case, Ancient, Control and Havoc collections.
Notable skins from Broken Fang Case:
Operation Riptide (21.09.2021-21.02.2022)
The last, 11th operation in the history of CS:GO. Valve again introduced the Battle Pass system alongside traditional coin-based operations. Collections introduced were themed after maps: Train 2021, Mirage 2021, Dust 2 2021, Vertigo 2021.
Riptide introduced five new maps:
Basalt
Insertion II
Ravine
Extraction
County
These were added to map pools in various game modes. About game modes:
Private Queues. Players could create a Premier match using a queue-code, allowing friends or Steam group members to play together.
Short Competitive Matches. Competitive matches that are shorter (best of 16 rounds) for players who prefer shorter games.
New mission types were introduced. Things like “Scavenger hunts”, graffiti-missions, checkpoint (“race to the finish”) missions.
Notable skins from Riptide Case:
How to Get Skins From CS:GO and CS2 Operations?
Skin.Land is the most efficient and safest place to acquire skins from CS:GO operations. We have a wide variety of them, including the rarest ones. But most importantly, we’re offering the best price, a huge amount of different payment methods, and 24/7 support. So don’t hesitate to choose Skin.Land as a main platform for buying and selling skins.
Will There be Any Operations in CS2?
Unfortunately, there is no official information from Valve about operations in CS2. The Riptide was the last in CS:GO. Since CS2 released, Valve has not launched any full operations.
Several dataminers have reportedly found lines in CS2’s files referencing operations or “Operation Missions” or “Operation Reward,” suggesting that the game has infrastructure hinting at operations, or at least something similar.
Overall, Valve may add a new operation in CS2. But it might be in a new format: armory Pass / Battle Pass with fewer “operation-only” features, or mixing in operations with ongoing seasonal content.
In addition, it’s probably not far off: mission UI code, operation strings in the game, and community demand make it seem like Valve has been preparing for or holding back something.
CS:GO Operations FAQ
How many operations were there in CS:GO?
There were 11 total Operations released in (CS:GO) between 2013 and 2021.
How to play Operations in CS:GO?
Operations in CS:GO, were special, limited-time events that acted like mini-expansions or seasonal passes. To play them, you needed to buy an Operation Pass when it was active. After that, you gained access to missions, maps, rewards, and exclusive content.
How long do CS:GO operations last?
CS:GO Operations typically lasted between 3 to 6 months, depending on the event.
Can you do operations from the past CS:GO?
Once an Operation ended, it stayed part of CS:GO’s history.
CS:GO's longest time between operations
The longest gap between Operations in CS:GO was over two years, specifically between Operation Hydra and Operation Shattered Web. Total gap: 2 years and 5 days.
Are CS:GO operations worth it?
Yes. For most players, CS:GO Operations were worth it, especially if you enjoyed missions, wanted exclusive skins, or liked supporting the game’s community content. However, it depends on what kind of player you are and what you expect in return.
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