It’s easy to forget how massively popular Counter-Strike:Global Offensive is. It’s consistently one of the most popular games on Steam, and its tournaments are some of the most-watched in the world. In case you don’t have a copy yet and want to see what all the fuss is about, you now have a quick way to test the waters.

Global Offensive’s Steam page now lists a “Free Edition” of the game, which lets you play offline matches against bots, or spectate other players’ matches through the in-game GOTV client. The in-game spectator client has some advantages over watching a livestream, such as letting you hop among player perspectives at will instead of relying on a guided camera. 

The $15 of the game is now listed as the “Full Edition,” and still offers all the regular features it normally does.

[Source: Steam]

Valve’s in-game spectator clients are top-notch (Dota 2’s is still by far my favorite way to watch individual matches), so this is definitely a smart move on their part. But for anyone hopping in to play against bots: Remember that while it might give you a grasp on how the game feels, playing against others changes the game drastically. Also, you will probably die more often.

Source: Game Informer Free Version Of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Lets You Play Against Bots, Watch Matches