Valve might have been a trendsetter once upon a time, but today it tends to follow them. That's not to say its choices end up in bad games -- Artifact seems great so far -- but if you're looking for innovation, it comes from elsewhere. Following that same school of thought, Valve has just made its long-running esports title, Counter Strike: Global Offensive entirely free to play in order to boost the popularity and support for the game's new Battle Royale mode.
Called Danger Zone, the new mode is much smaller-scale than the 100 player counts seen in the likes of PUBG and Fortnite. Player counts are 16 or 18, depending on whether you play solo or in squads of three. You'll have access to the same guns and armaments as the main CS:GO gameplay modes, but you'll have to try and find them and cash while you play in order to unlock them, rather than buying them each round. There will also be missions within the game, like finding hostages or completing contract kills, to unlock extra cash and weapons options.
Drones will drop off guns you buy mid-game, which could offer an interesting tactical choice or two when those same drones could reveal your position to your opponents.
This mode will be fully accessible to anyone who plays the free to play model of the game, as will the standard game modes. However, there will be an option for $15 for players to enter a Prime game play model. That will give them access to exclusive servers, as well as a better loot box options, and souvenir items. All existing owners of the game will be converted to Prime members for free.