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Counter-Strike 2 officially launches on PC today

After a lengthy and limited test run on PC, Valve has launched the sequel to one of the most acclaimed multiplayer shooters of all-time.

Ozzie Mejia

September 27, 2023 2:20 PM

Valve

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It's been a big year for video games, but one title that has flown somewhat under the radar has been Valve's Counter-Strike 2. Touted as a free update to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, this is still nevertheless considered to be an official sequel to one of the PC gaming's greatest shooters. After a lengthy limited test run, it's now time to jump in, as Valve has announced that Counter-Strike 2 is officially live on Steam.

Originally announced earlier this year, Counter-Strike 2's launch announcement came via a surprise trailer drop on Wednesday, September 27, 2023. Valve initially teased something big for this date on the Counter-Strike Twitter (X) account a week ago, but offered no hints. It didn't take long for the community to come to the conclusion that the test period for CS2 was wrapping up.

Valve is touting Counter-Strike 2 as "the largest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike's history," bringing the classic shooter to the new Source 2 engine. This has allowed for modernized maps with improved lighting, more detailed high-definition textures, and a more realistic appearance. Visual effects have likewise been modernized. While this looks better to the eye, these also affect gameplay in various ways through interactions such as firing off into smoke and lighting interactions between explosions and various objects. Source 2 tools have also been made available to the CS community, which they can use to build new maps for the Source 2 Item Workshop.

It is important to note that while Counter-Strike 2 is being considered a new title, Valve is also calling it a free update to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, meaning CS:GO owners can check their Steam libraries and find their game listed as Counter-Strike 2. Because of that, anything players have earned over their time with CS:GO will carry over to CS2.

Counter-Strike 2 is officially live on Steam today. Like CS:GO before it, it is a free-to-play game. Expect more information, including update notes, from Valve soon.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?