Since September 2017, mainland China has had its own edition of CS:GO and now CS2, run by Perfect World under an exclusive licence from Valve. The same company published the official case odds page, created the art for two launch sticker capsules and hosted the 2024 Major in Shanghai, the first held in Asia. Here is how it unfolded, from the 2016 licence to the 2027 Major.
Timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| July 2016 | Perfect World wins the exclusive CS:GO licence for mainland China |
| December 1, 2016 | Ministry of Culture notice on online games, in force from May 1, 2017 |
| September 11, 2017 | Perfect World publishes its odds page |
| September 14, 2017 | CS:GO launches in mainland China (September 15, Beijing time) |
| October 18, 2017 | Perfect World capsules go on sale worldwide |
| February 9, 2021 | China version moves to Steam China |
| March 21, 2024 | Perfect World's warning about case-opening sites |
| Nov 30 – Dec 15, 2024 | Perfect World Shanghai Major |
| November–December 2027 | The Major returns to Shanghai |
2016: Perfect World's CS:GO licence
In July 2016 Perfect World announced that it had won the exclusive right to operate CS:GO in mainland China. It was the company's second key Valve game after Dota 2, which it already ran there. It also promised tournaments for professional, semi-professional and casual players.
September 2017: free with an ID check
When the China version opened, players who verified their identity with Perfect World got the game free, with Prime status, which meant matchmaking with other Prime accounts. Others could buy the game after a real-name registration and play on the same low-latency Chinese servers, but without Prime.
Perfect World paired free play with strict rules: one real-name account per player, and a lifetime ban after a single cheating offence. It claimed China was the first country where CS:GO was free. Everyone else waited until December 6, 2018, when CS:GO went free to play worldwide.
Perfect World's press release says some symbols were altered for China, including the removal of the hammer and sickle on Cache and Train. Besides Perfect World's launcher, the game could be started with the -perfectworld launch option after registering a Perfect World account. Valve's update that day also added the Spectrum 2 Case.
The Perfect World capsules
Launch-month players in China got a free sticker from each of two Perfect World capsules, plus one graffiti, all with art Valve credited to Perfect World. Perfect World Sticker Capsule 1, Perfect World Sticker Capsule 2 and the Perfect World Graffiti Box then went on sale worldwide as limited-time offers on October 18, 2017.
Each capsule holds 15 stickers: 12 paper designs at High Grade (blue), one holo at Remarkable (purple) and two foils at Exotic (pink). The graffiti box holds 18 graffiti. Names below drop the "Sticker |" prefix.
| Capsule | Foils (Exotic) | Holo (Remarkable) | Paper (High Grade) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capsule 1 | Guardian Dragon, Fancy Koi | Cheongsam | Water Gun, Cheongsam, Fancy Koi, Guardian Dragon, Hotpot, Noodles, Rice Bomb, Terror Rice, Mahjong Fa, Mahjong Rooster, Mahjong Zhong, Toy Tiger |
| Capsule 2 | Longevity, Pixiu | Twin Koi | God of Fortune, Huaji, Nezha, Rage, Non-Veg, Longevity, Pixiu, Twin Koi, Shaolin, Green Swallow, Blue Swallow, Zombie Hop |
The odds page
China's Ministry of Culture issued a notice on online games on December 1, 2016, in force from May 1, 2017. For random draws it set these rules. Players can't be asked to pay for a draw directly with money or game currency. The operator must publish every item that can come out and its probability, publish players' results and keep records for at least 90 days, and offer another way to get items with the same properties.
Perfect World published CS:GO's odds on September 11, 2017, four days before launch. By its rules, at Covert and below each grade is five times rarer than the grade beneath it, and a rare special item is two-fifths as likely as a Covert. Items of the same grade are equally likely, and the StatTrak chance for an eligible item is given as 1:10. In a keyed case, that puts the rare special item, a knife or gloves, at 0.256%; the history of weapon cases has the full table.
The same 1:5 step applies to capsules. For one holding High Grade, Remarkable and Exotic stickers, as both Perfect World capsules do, the page gives 80.645%, 16.129% and 3.226%. A foil comes out about one time in 31, split evenly between the two foils.
The page has been updated since. Its current version adds the Armory Pass and the CS2 terminals, and it links a public winners list. It notes that the rates are statistics over many players, so one person's results can differ. For how European regulators have treated cases, see loot box rules in Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Every category it now lists, from souvenir packages to the Dead Hand Terminal, is laid out in our guide to CS2 case odds.
2021: the move to Steam China
On February 9, 2021, the China version moved to Steam China, a separate store for mainland China run by a Perfect World company under an exclusive Valve licence. PC Gamer counted 53 games and DLC at launch, against 21,131 on Steam, because Steam China sells only government-licensed games. At launch it had no forums or Workshop, and it used the same account as Steam.
Existing China players had to link their accounts. Perfect World said linking left items, levels and entitlements untouched and only changed how players logged in and paid. On Steam China, those accounts, verified or bought, got Prime automatically, and new accounts could get it by reaching level 21 or buying it.
CS2 in China: music kits and Shanghai
CS2 replaced CS:GO in the early hours of September 28, 2023, Beijing time, with items carried over. Today the official site sends new players to Steam China and tells Steam users to add -perfectworld to the launch options.
Perfect World has two music kits in the game. 花脸 Hua Lian (Painted Face), added on September 13, 2022, marked five years of CS:GO in China by mixing Qinqiang opera with rock. Ay Hey, a blend of Chinese folk and electronic music, arrived on November 27, 2024 with the Shanghai Major hub.
That Major ran from November 30 to December 15, 2024, and Spirit beat FaZe 2-1 in the final. Perfect World Esports has confirmed that the Major returns to Shanghai in November and December 2027. Before that, ESL holds IEM Beijing 2026 in November 2026.
Case-opening sites and the official odds
The odds page lists only containers opened in the game. On March 21, 2024, Perfect World's CS team wrote to players that it has not licensed any outside case-opening site in any way. It said such sites pass off their own blind boxes as weapon cases, manipulate drop rates, use misleading streamer promotion, sometimes never deliver items and offer no refunds, and it called this essentially fraud. It also warned about sites that vanish after collecting deposits and about account theft.
To find a skin with a Perfect World sticker applied, Buy on CS2Sell can filter by sticker.
Sources
- 完美世界与Valve达成战略合作 获得CSGO国服代理权 (Perfect World wins the CS:GO China licence) — CS:GO China official site
- CS:GO officially released in China through Perfect World — Perfect World
- items_game.txt — GameTracking-CS2 on GitHub
- 文化部关于规范网络游戏运营加强事中事后监管工作的通知 (Ministry of Culture notice on online game operation) — Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China
- 概率公示 (probability disclosure) — CS:GO China official site
- Steam's Chinese version is finally here, but it only has 53 games and no community features — PC Gamer
- 关于CS游戏外开箱的告玩家书 (letter to players on case opening outside the game) — CS:GO China official site
- Top Counter-Strike tournament to return to Shanghai in 2027 — Shanghai Municipal Government
