What started as a Counter-Strike 1.6 community map called de_cpl_strike created by Michael "BubkeZ" Hull, would eventually become the de_mirage known today when it was altered in 2004. Valve would later remake the map for the launch of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive . This version has been featured in every CS:GO Major Championships to date and has consistently been in the top 5 most played maps in both casual and professional play since 2

With his Twitch career falling to the wayside as a result, it is estimated that ItsSliker stole close to $200,000 from people within the Twitch community, sparking a huge flurry of debates surrounding the state of Twitch gambling and how it is ruining the platform. In the wake of these revelations, extremely influential streamers such as Pokimane took to Twitter to demand that Twitch ban gambling on the platform, with her tweet receiving over 300,000 li

Despite the similarities in appearances and gameplay, no two FPS games are identical. For instance, hero shooters such as Valorant and Overwatch are vastly different from battle royales such as Apex Legends or military shooters like Call Of Duty . As such, newcomers who just want to experience gun-toting fun can feel a bit overwhelmed just having to choose a SLG game heroes to

By now, everyone is familiar with battle royale video games. From games like Apex Legends , Fortnite , and Call of Duty: Warzone 2 , battle royale titles seem to have flooded the online gaming market and have left a permanent imprint on the multiplayer shooter genre. However, within the selection of free-to-play options in the battle royale genre , CS:GO Danger Zone seems to be one that has been largely underrated since lau

Platforms: Android , iOS

Players new to the FPS scene would likely have heard of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds , especially with how it spearheaded the popularity of battle royale games out there. However, newcomers lacking the fidelity needed for PUBG might not be able to enjoy the full experience. Thankfully, devs at Tencent make this possible with PUBG Mobi

Counter Strike: Global Offensive has often been a source of gambling-related controversy, and so it is no wonder that this inevitably translated over to the Twitch platform. CSGO's case unboxing system provides a small opportunity for players to possibly receive items worth huge amounts of real-world money and was one of the first titles to really spark widespread discourse surrounding this kind of "soft gambling" that was going unchecked within the video game indus

Like CS: GO, DotA 2 has built a massive player base and Esports scene over many consistent years of popularity. DotA 2 is one of the big MOBA-style games that dominate the market, alongside League of Legends . DotA 2 sports a staggering 123 playable characters, all with unique play styles and strategies. Like any MOBA, learning characters, items, and match times are important for succ

Gambling services such as Stake.com have risen dramatically in popularity and spending power in recent years, allowing players to gamble with the cryptocurrency of their choice. This popularity allowed crypto gambling services to offer extremely lucrative sponsorship deals for big-time streamers to gamble on their websites. For example, popular streamer Adin Ross was reportedly being paid upwards of $900,000 a week to play on Stake.com, meaning a glaring and massive vested interest was pres

Weapons sway more when aimed down sights, making even simple shots hard to pull off, and the map is filled with sound traps that reveal positions to other teams in a heartbeat. The overall flow and strategy of Hunt make it one of the hardest yet most satisfying games for newcomers to le

With many other massively popular streamers such as xQc and Trainwreckstv receiving similar deals, many claim that this kind of unchecked promotion of gambling services from people who are receiving huge sponsorship deals can be harmful to audiences, while also questioning the credibility of the showcased win rates of the gambling sites on stream. This kind of gambling was present on Twitch for several years, being a lingering controversy that was only recently addressed thanks to what is likely Twitch's most high-profile gambling controversy to d

Platforms: PC , PS4 , Xbox One , Nintendo Switch

Newcomers who want the Overwatch hero shooter experience interlaced with the sheer havoc of battle royale will likely appreciate Apex Legends . This spinoff of the Titanfall series takes place hundreds of years into the future, where the Apex Legends Tournament gathers warriors of various callings for a futuristic battle to the death. Akin to a typical battle royale, Apex Legends groups players in squads (or solo!) to search for loot and fight on a massive map. Unlike other battle royales, each player chooses a character with unique abilit

Generally, players will want to go for these because of the advantage that the overpowered weapons give them. For example, a player with an AUG assault rifle is easily able to win a fight at long range over another player holding a P90. Although it can be risky for players to leave the comfort of their hexagon and try and loot these crates, it is surely worth it for the competitive edge that it gi