Despite being almost 25 years old now, Counter-Strike 1.6 remains immensely popular among fans of the series. It continues to maintain high player counts on Steam, and you’ll never struggle to find a match. Want to get involved in where it all started? Here’s how to play Counter-Strike 1.6 online with other players in 2025 and beyond!
Ignore the in-game server browser
We want to get one thing out of the way before anything else – you should completely ignore the in-game server browser if you want to play Counter-Strike 1.6 online. All of the servers here are full, all of the time. You’ll be waiting forever to try to nab a space, and it just isn’t worth it.
When you filter these servers by “Server not full,” you’re greeted with a bunch of empty options, too. If you’re using the in-game server browser, you’ll probably never have the chance to play CS 1.6 online.
Use third-party Counter-Strike 1.6 online servers
Instead, your best bet is to use third-party Counter-Strike 1.6 servers to play online. I personally use GameTracker, which has tons of different options to play. Many of these servers have empty spaces for you to play, so find one you like the sound of and hop in! Make sure it’s one located near you, as ping can be an issue with these servers.
To connect to these servers, copy the numbers underneath the IP:Port tab, then paste them after the word “connect” in your Counter-Strike 1.6 console. An example command is “connect 149.19.48.81:27016“. You’ll then load into your server and be ready to play Counter-Strike 1.6 online.
Unfortunately, most of these servers won’t offer classic CS 1.6 5v5 action. It’s extremely hard to play the original Counter-Strike game mode nowadays, and you’ll probably have to get a group of friends together in a private server if you want to make that happen. That’s the reality of playing a 25-year-old game, unfortunately.