Counter-Strike 1.6
€5.99/month for 14 players
- Paid test from €1.99 for 3 days, 14 players
- 14, 24 or 32 players
- Essential, Performance and Premium: shared CPU with standard, high or highest priority
- Frankfurt or Bucharest, DDoS filtering included
CS:GO (legacy) server hosting
- Server app
- 740
- Server build
- October 2023
- Legacy branch
- csgo_legacy
- Standalone app
- 4465480
CS:GO is a frozen legacy build now, with no official matchmaking. We don't sell it yet. Here is what a legacy server needs, what can go wrong, and when CS2 is the better choice.
Counter-Strike server hostingNot on sale yet
We don't sell CS:GO hosting and have no date. Before selling it, we would test which CS:GO clients can join a legacy server. Email us and we'll tell you if it goes on sale.
Counter-Strike 1.6 and Counter-Strike 2 are on sale today.
Ask to be told at launch
The button writes to office@hostsrc.com.
Where CS:GO stands now
Counter-Strike 2 took over CS:GO's Steam app in September 2023. The CS:GO build still exists, in three places.
The
csgo_legacybranchSteam app 730 installs CS2 now. The last CS:GO build sits on its
csgo_legacybeta branch, which Steam labels "Legacy Version of CS:GO".Source: SteamDB: app 730 (external site, opens in a new tab)
Server app 740
The CS:GO dedicated server is still Steam app 740, for Windows and Linux. Its public build dates from October 2023 and has not changed since.
Source: SteamDB: app 740 (external site, opens in a new tab)
App 4465480
In 2026 Valve published CS:GO again as a separate free Steam app, 4465480, for Windows and Linux.
Source: Steam: app 4465480 (external site, opens in a new tab)
No official matchmaking
Valve's matchmaking stays offline. CS:GO is played offline with bots, on community servers, or by connecting to a server's IP.
Running a legacy server
A CS:GO server is SRCDS, the Source Dedicated Server, installed from app 740. It needs a token to go public and a key to fetch Workshop maps.
SRCDS
Install with SteamCMD and
app_update 740, then start./srcds_run -game csgoon Linux. Windows builds exist too.Source: VDC: CS:GO servers (external site, opens in a new tab)
Game Server Login Token
Without a GSLT the server only accepts players from LAN addresses. Each token serves one server instance, set with
+sv_setsteamaccount.Source: VDC: CS:GO servers (external site, opens in a new tab)
Tick rate
The
-tickratelaunch option sets the server's rate. The Valve Developer Community's list of SRCDS options names the games that ignore it, and CS:GO is not one of them.Source: VDC: command line options (external site, opens in a new tab)
Workshop maps
host_workshop_mapandhost_workshop_collectionload Workshop maps. Downloads need a Steam Web API key, saved incsgo/webapi_authkey.txtor passed with-authkey.Source: VDC: CS:GO servers (external site, opens in a new tab)
FastDL
CS:GO keeps
sv_downloadurlandsv_allowdownload, so players can fetch custom maps, models and sounds from your own web server.Source: VDC: CS:GO cvars (external site, opens in a new tab)
Map groups
Start the server with a
+mapgroupor a Workshop collection, or maps won't cycle. CS:GO doesn't usemapcycle.txt.Source: VDC: CS:GO servers (external site, opens in a new tab)
SourceMod on CS:GO
CS:GO plugins run on SourceMod, which loads through Metamod:
Metamod:
Source 1.12 Metamod:
Source 1.12, the current stable release, loads server plugins on CS:GO, with 32-bit and 64-bit Linux builds. Source: Metamod:Source downloads (external site, opens in a new tab)
SourceMod 1.12
SourceMod 1.12, the current stable release, runs on Metamod:
Source and still includes CS:GO binaries and gamedata, so SourceMod plugins built for CS:GO still load. Source: SourceMod downloads (external site, opens in a new tab)
Build mismatches
A mismatched build can stop players joining, and we haven't tested which builds work together. Server app 740, the
csgo_legacybranch and app 4465480 report different builds, and Valve hasn't documented which clients join which server or which app ID a token needs. We would test both before selling CS:GO.Source: SteamDB: app 4465480 (external site, opens in a new tab)
Skin and rank plugins
Valve permanently disabled the tokens of CS:GO operators whose plugins faked inventories, knives, skins or ranks, and stopped those owners creating new tokens.
Source: CS blog: server guidelines (external site, opens in a new tab)
Frozen plugin data
SourceMod's CS:GO gamedata last changed in April 2023. It matches the frozen build, so expect no new fixes for the game.
Source: SourceMod: game.csgo.txt (external site, opens in a new tab)
When to pick CS2
Pick CS2 for a new community. Stay on CS:GO only when your server depends on CS:GO plugins or a mode you can't move yet.
It is the game players install
CS2 replaced CS:GO on Steam app 730 on 27 September 2023. Installing Counter-Strike from Steam today gets CS2.
Valve still patches it
Valve ships CS2 updates often. Steam news lists 39 CS2 update posts between 1 April and 14 October 2026.
Sub-tick
Valve says of CS2: "Tick rate no longer matters for moving, shooting, or throwing."
Source: counter-strike.net: CS2 (external site, opens in a new tab)
CounterStrikeSharp
A C# plugin framework for CS2 that runs on Metamod:
Source 2.0 (development builds). SourceMod plugins from a CS:GO server don't run on it. Source: CounterStrikeSharp docs (external site, opens in a new tab)
SwiftlyS2
A CS2 framework built in C++, with C# plugins. It starts through its own loader, not through Metamod:
Source. Source: SwiftlyS2 docs: installation (external site, opens in a new tab)
Workshop maps
CS2 community servers can host Workshop maps, added on 2 November 2023, so moving to CS2 keeps your Workshop maps an option.
Source: Steam news: CS2, 2 November 2023 (external site, opens in a new tab)
What you manage in the control panel
You manage your server in Optymous, the game server panel we build ourselves. It started as a fork of Pterodactyl.
control.hostsrc.com
Sign in with your Hostsrc account, by email code, Google or Discord.
Run the server
Console
Start, stop and restart the server, and send commands from a live console. Search the output, or copy up to the last 5,000 lines for a ticket.
Files
Edit configs, plugins and maps in the file manager, or connect over SFTP. Search file names and the text inside files.
Schedules
Restart the server, run a command or take a backup on a schedule. Schedules run in your server's time zone.
Backups
Back up the server's files or one of its databases, by hand or on a schedule. A deleted backup is kept for a retention period before it is removed.
Databases
Give a database more than one user, choose where it accepts connections from, and rotate passwords.
See how your server ran
- CPU
- Memory
- Network
- Disk I/O
Start, stop and crash markers sit on the same charts, at the moment each one happened.
Log search
Search your server's logs on the same page as the charts.
Run your community
Players online
The status bar shows a live player count for your server.
Private access
Close the server to the public and let in only the players you choose, such as friends, testers or a scrim team.
Admin roles
Invite your admins by email and give each one a role. Owner, Co-owner, Moderator and Member come ready, and you can add your own.
More on Hostsrc
- Counter-Strike server hosting
Every Counter-Strike game we host or plan to host, side by side.
- Counter-Strike 2 server hosting
What a CS2 server runs: GSLT, sub-tick, Workshop maps and plugin frameworks.
- Where our servers run
The CPUs, network and power behind each location.
- Contact
Questions before launch go to office@hostsrc.com.
Ask to be told at launch
The button writes to office@hostsrc.com.
CS:GO hosting questions
No. We don't sell CS:GO server hosting and have no date for it. Counter-Strike 1.6 and Counter-Strike 2 are the games we host today.
Yes. The CS:GO dedicated server is still Steam app 740, and the stable SourceMod and Metamod:Source releases still support it. A public server needs a Game Server Login Token, and the server build has not changed since October 2023.
Usually the build or the token. A mismatched build can stop players joining, and we haven't tested which builds work together. Server app 740, the csgo_legacy branch and app 4465480 report different builds. Without a token the server only accepts LAN addresses. If the console can't connect to Steam servers with result 18 or 106, regenerate or replace the token. The server also ignores queries until a map has loaded.
Legacy status
Yes, without Valve matchmaking. You can play CS:GO offline with bots, on community servers or by IP, from CS2's csgo_legacy branch or the separate free app 4465480.
csgo_legacy is a beta branch of Steam app 730 that holds the last CS:GO build. Steam labels it "Legacy Version of CS:GO", while the main branch of app 730 installs CS2.
Not a reliable one. The Valve Developer Community (external site, opens in a new tab) notes that the community server browser in app 4465480 is broken because the game expects app 730. Typing connect and the server's address in the console works.
CS2, unless your community depends on CS:GO plugins or a mode you can't port yet. CS2 is what Steam installs, Valve still patches it, and its plugins run on frameworks such as CounterStrikeSharp or SwiftlyS2. Our Counter-Strike 2 page covers what a CS2 server runs.
Running the server
Yes, for anyone outside your LAN. Create one per server instance on Steam's game server accounts page (external site, opens in a new tab) and set it with +sv_setsteamaccount. Your Steam account needs a registered phone and must not be limited. We haven't confirmed which app ID a token for a legacy server should use, and would test it before selling CS:GO.
Yes. SourceMod 1.12 and Metamod:Source 1.12, the current stable releases, ship CS:GO files. SourceMod's CS:GO gamedata last changed in April 2023, so plugins that rely on it get no new fixes.
No, not without risking the server. Valve's server guidelines (external site, opens in a new tab) forbid plugins that fake inventories, knives, skins or ranks, and Valve permanently disabled the tokens of operators who ran them.