Valve has suddenly confirmed Counter-Strike 2 – and it’s arriving sooner than you might think.
An exact release date has yet to be announced, but it’s been given a Summer 2023 release window, and will run on Source Engine 2.
It will be a free upgrade to CS:GO. It’s also available in limited testing to some CS:GO players starting today, with Valve revealing more details on how to become part of the limited test.
Per a CS2 website that popped up today, it’s “the largest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike’s history, ensuring new features and updates for years to come.” In several videos released today, Valve gave a closer glimpse at what Counter-Strike players can expect.
Specifically, Valve spotlighted its “upgraded and overhauled maps,” “game-changing” smoke grenades, tick-rate-independent gameplay, and redesigned visual effects and audio.
All of CS2’s overhauled maps “have been fully rebuilt from the ground up, leveraging all of the new Source 2 tools and rendering features,” says Valve. The updated grenades, meanwhile, now have the ability to interact with other gameplay events, will expand to fill spaces naturally, and will react to lightning.
Plus, “regardless of tick rate, your moving and shooting will be equally responsive and your grenades will always land the same way,” per the announcement.
All of a player’s CS:GO items will carry with them to CS2.
Though this marks Valve’s first official confirmation of CS2’s existence, rumors had already started to gain steam earlier this month, with notable journalist and Counter-Strike caster Richard Lewis saying that Valve was getting ready to announce the project.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
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