Yes, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is completely free to play. Valve Corporation made the game free-to-play in December 2018, allowing anyone to download and play it through Steam without paying anything.

When you download the free version, you get access to all game modes, including casual, competitive, deathmatch, and danger zone. You can play on official Valve servers and community servers without any restrictions.

However, there are two important things to note about the free version:

1. You'll have a "Non-Prime" status account
2. You can only match with other non-Prime players in competitive mode

To get Prime status, you need to purchase it separately for $14.99. Prime status gives you these additional benefits:

- Exclusive matchmaking with other Prime players
- Access to better quality matches
- Exclusive item drops and souvenir items
- Ability to earn experience points and skill group rankings
- Eligible for Prime-exclusive drops and weapon cases

You can download CS:GO for free through Steam on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The game requires about 25GB of storage space and decent computer specifications to run smoothly.

Remember that while the base game is free, there are optional in-game purchases like weapon skins, stickers, and operations passes. These are purely cosmetic and don't affect gameplay in any way.

For new players, I recommend trying the free version first to see if you enjoy the game before considering the Prime status upgrade. The free version offers plenty of content to get started and understand the game mechanics.

To summarize: CS:GO is free to play with some limitations, and you can upgrade to Prime status later if you want access to additional features and better matchmaking.

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