A new age dawns: Counter-Strike 2 is live on Steam, replaces CS:GO
Counter-Strike 2 left its testing phase and gobbled up Counter-Strike: Global Offensive today, replacing the decade-old version of the legendary 5v5 competitive FPS on Steam with a sequel built on Valve's newest engine.
CS:GO, as far as I can tell, is gone. Players who prefer the old version can't go back, which Valve seemed to confirm today with gif-based tears for the fallen game:
https://t.co/5RM9G9e4Od pic.twitter.com/8DwgjlPrv4September 27, 2023
CS2 brings the shooter into the Source 2 engine, facilitating such changes as the addition of volumetric smoke grenade smoke and «cleaner, brighter» maps—minor patch notes in another game, maybe, but seismic events in a competitive shooter that's been as remarkably consistent as Counter-Strike has for the past two-plus decades. Here are the major features Counter-Strike 2 is debuting with:
For the majority of this year, CS2 has been in an invite-only «Limited Test» with some of the new features. A survey of pro CS players we published earlier this week revealed generally tempered expectations for CS2's launch.
«It's not competitive-ready at all, I still rather play CS:GO,» pro Counter-Strike player Héjja «kezziwow» Kászandrá told us this week. «I have not yet played any competitive match on it, [and] there is a lot to improve on to make me feel like it's CS:GO.»
«I think CS2 is heading in the right direction but in its current state, it still needs some improvements before it is a good one-to-one replacement for CS:GO,» said another pro, Sebastian «volt» Maloș. «If I had to choose right now I would still go for CS:GO but having CS2 coming soon feels refreshing and I'm excited to grind something new.»
The launch map set for Counter-Strike 2 is:
*Not in current competition
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