Valve

Counter Strike 2 is officially announced along with its launch window

After weeks of rumors and leaks, Valve's team-based shooter will finally get a sequel that shows off some of the improvements it will bring.

Update: Mar 22nd, 2023 13:47 EDT

After several weeks of rumors and leaks, Valve makes the announcement of Counter-Strike 2 official, bringing a sequel to its very popular team-based shooter, as well as its release date.

According to the official Counter-Strike 2 website, this title will be "the largest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike’s history, ensuring new features and updates for years to come." Within Valve's announcement, CS2 includes a series of improvements ranging from:

Dynamic smoke grenades that not only respond to the environment but also to the surrounding objects and to the light and impact of the shots.
Improvements in shooting, improving the time between movement and firing, allowing "what you see is what you get".
Maps, a "fundamental pillar of Counter-Strike" will be improved, with different levels of attention, with some classic maps being recreated from scratch, some improved with lighting technologies, and other maps so classic that they will not move.

Today we're excited to announce Counter-Strike 2. Counter-Strike 2 is an overhaul to every system, every piece of content, and every part of the C-S experience. First, let's talk about smoke grenades: pic.twitter.com/iTtguRHJ0S
— CS:GO (@CounterStrike) March 22, 2023

When will Counter-Strike 2 arrive?

The next version, as announced by Valve, will arrive in the summer of 2023, still without a concrete date. The title will run on Source Engine 2 and will come as a free update for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) players. It is important to mention that all of a player's CS:GO items will carry with them to CS2.

How to enter the beta?

Starting today, some Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players can participate in a limited test of this version. The Steam support page mentions that there are "a number of factors deemed important by the Counter-Strike 2 development team, including (but not limited to) recent playtime on Valve official servers, trust factor, and Steam account standing.”

If you are one of the selected players, you will receive a notification in the CS:GO main menu. It will also mention that more players will be added to this limited trial over time.

Source | Counter-Strike