It seems that Counter-Strike 2 is almost upon us! It’s been years of rumors and false flags, but the update players have been waiting for is finally happening.

What Is Counter-Strike 2?

Counter-Strike 2 is the upcoming replacement for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Rumors first began after a recent NVIDIA driver update added support for the executables “csgos2.exe” and “cs2.exe”. This was only the beginning, with more rumors emerging in the days following until official details were confirmed on March 22nd. From the blog released by Valve, it seems that the only confirmed details are gameplay upgrades to smokes, maps, tick rate, skins and sound.

On March 5th, reputable CS:GO news journalist Richard Lewis released a post discussing Counter-Strike 2. In the post, Lewis claims that an anonymous source had given him details about the upcoming title, including the huge news that it would indeed be a rebrand to Counter-Strike 2.

The specifics of Counter-Strike 2 seem to be a checklist of everything players have asked for from CS:GO over the years. Lewis claims that Counter-Strike 2 will launch with 128-tick servers, bringing the game in line with Valorant at last. As well as this, the matchmaking system will be revamped to remove unbalanced matchmaking and long times between ranking up. This is as well as the improved visuals through the transition to the Source 2 engine. It’s believed that Valve hopes these reworks will remove the need for third-party services such as FACEIT.

As usual, fans were right to take Lewis’ word as gospel. Details released in Valve’s blog confirmed significant gameplay changes. According to the blog, “tick rate no longer matters for moving, shooting, or throwing”, which is identical to direct competitor Valorant.

When Can We Play Counter-Strike 2?

Perhaps the biggest revelation from Lewis’ post that proved to be correct was that the limited test for Counter-Strike 2 has launched already. After years of silence, a drop like this is enormous for CS:GO. The game is already seeing record numbers of players every weekend at the moment. Perhaps this could see another big spike in interest coming up!

The Counter-Strike blog post confirmed that some players have already been invited to try out Counter-Strike 2. Whether or not you’ll receive an invite is dependent on your play time on official Valve servers, trust factors and Steam account standing. However, with the full release pegged for summer 2023, you won’t have to wait long to try it out.

Counter-Strike 2 in the Pro Scene

There has been plenty of noise on how the transition will affect the pro scene. If CS2 does become a full release, the original CS:GO will still be available to play, and it would be difficult to imagine the pros moving over immediately. It took a while for players to move on from CS 1.6 after the release of CS:GO, and the same could happen here. If rumors are to be believed, CS2 has already received extensive testing from professionals. Retired player gAuLeS added fuel to the fire, hinting on Twitter that he has recently visited Seattle, just a few miles away from Valve’s headquarters in Belleview, Washington.

There’s still a lot of uncertainty around Counter-Strike 2. But it seems that we won’t have long to figure out the truth, one way or another.

Steam Leaks?

Another source of Counter-Strike 2 leaks has come from mysterious goings-on behind the scenes on Steam. It was revealed on March 14th that the Source 2 update had been added to the developer pre-release branch for CS:GO. When this happens, it means that an update is forthcoming in the coming days. Exciting stuff for CS players!

SOURCE 2 HAS BEEN ADDED TO DEVELOPER PRE-RELEASE BRANCH!https://t.co/Fv33DwsGvP pic.twitter.com/6mLteY2FoU

— Aquarius (@aquaismissing) March 14, 2023

This doesn’t guarantee that Source 2 will be released immediately. However, it implies that there’ll be no more updates for CS:GO until it’s finally available to players.

Later that day, multiple sources claimed that Source 2 executables had been leaked. While they weren’t playable, creator of SteamDB xpaw confirmed the legitimacy of the executables on Twitter.

The wheels are finally turning on Source 2. Stay tuned for more, in the build-up to its long-anticipated release.

More Counter-Strike 2 Changes

The most recent update to the Counter-Strike 2 limited test was massive. It finally replaced Dust 2 with Mirage, giving us the first look at the shiny new version of the classic map. Early response has been strong, with the vibrant colors making it seem fresh for the first time in a decade.

It wasn’t the only massive change, though. The next feature has vast implications for Counter-Strike 2 esports, and will change how players choose their weapons forever. Loadouts. Prior to each match, players can now choose four pistols, five mid-range weapons (SMGs and Heavy Weapons), and five rifles, including both M4s. This comes alongside the ability for players to refund accidental purchases. It’s the very definition of a game-changer, and may mean weapons like the Nova become somewhat extinct.

Source: counter-strike.net

The ability to refund isn’t the only change made to CS2’s buy menu, either. You may have been wondering, well, how is CS2 different? Valve has answered that question by removing the weapon wheel, a feature seen as the final remains of CS:GO’s console-friendly design. It has been replaced by a tile design that shows you everything at once. Some would even say it resembles Valorant’s buy menu, and the resemblance surely isn’t coincidental.

A new batch of players were recently invited to the CS2 limited test, and it seems that Valve is ramping up for a full release. The studio remains pretty quiet on when exactly it will release in full, and if that summer 2023 release date holds true, then it could be any day now.

Alongside that new batch of players, Valve also released the CS2 Workshop Tools for creators to play around with. The implications for this could be huge, as they’re now able to get a head start on creating weapon skins, stickers, and even maps. Some community map creators have already gotten involved, with the creator of the old map Santorini sharing some work-in-progress images of its return in CS2.

You can immediately see the benefits of the gorgeous Source 2 engine, and hopefully they’re able to get it to a point where Valve is happy to add it back into the game on a permanent basis. Over the coming month’s we’ll likely see many more instances like this, where creators get fully involved with the CS2 Workshop Tools.

FAQs

How long will CS2 be supported for?

With CS:GO being supported for well over a decade, we’d expect a similar level of support for the next iteration of Counter-Strike. The reason the update has taken so long is that Valve has built the framework for the game to last for an extremely long time, so it’s certainly not going to abandon it any time. Counter-Strike is more popular than ever before, and Valve is not going to squander the audience it has slowly built over the years. 

Will my skins still work in CS2?

Yes – it has already been confirmed that all of your skins and stickers will be fully supported in CS2. This means that some skins will look better than others in the shiny new engine, which could affect skin price. We’ve seen the effect of this already, with many skins on the market rising in anticipation of CS2. With the CS2 Beta already out in the wild, it’s already possible to see how every skin in the game will look going forward, and we’d recommend checking before buying any new skins.

When will the first CS2 Major be held?

The first CS2 Major has already been confirmed to be PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, and will begin in March 2024. This Major promises to usher in a new era of competitive Counter-Strike, being the first PGL Major since 2022. Very little is known about the Major at the moment, but fans are already excited about the possibilities the new game could bring under an experienced tournament organizer.

Will there be any new guns in CS2?

There aren’t any new weapons confirmed for CS2 at the moment. We certainly wouldn’t expect any to be in the game at launch. Despite this, it’s definitely possible that Valve adds a new weapon or two post-launch. It would definitely be a huge change to get used to. However, with the new smoke grenade mechanics, Valve has already shown it has no issue with shaking up the game. A new weapon could be the perfect way to do it once again.