According to esports journalist Richard Lewis, Counter-Strike 2 is real, and it’s around the corner. The new and updated version of the legendary competitive first-person shooter game is likely to launch into beta as early as this month if reports are true.
Rumors of a new Counter-Strike are nothing new, but NVIDIA’s new driver update includes support for two mysterious game files: csgo2.exe and cs2.exe. Lewis states that anonymous sources familiar with the game’s development confirmed a new version of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is in the works and has been in development for quite some time now.
The sources say the new version has been a priority for Valve, which makes sense, considering Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has not seen any major updates in years, despite being the most popular game on Steam. Counter-Strike 2 will be on the Source 2 engine, which will bring a plethora of improvements to the game, including updates in visuals and performance.
One thing to consider, however, is whether or not the update will take a toll on the player base. A new update will likely mean more demanding hardware requirements — a higher barrier to entry. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, in its current form, boasts low hardware requirements, making it more accessible to players worldwide.
Of course, Counter-Strike 2 will offer a matchmaking system. Moreover, the system will offer features that potentially make third-party services like FACEIT and ESEA unnecessary. Of course, that’s assuming that competitive servers offer 128 tick servers natively, and only time will tell if that’s the case.
Lewis’ sources explained that the new CSGO2 is almost ready to go and had already been tested by a group of players in the competitive scene who were flown out to the Valve HQ in Seattle.
How the new game will affect the current competitive CS:GO scene is unclear. Since the upcoming release is a beta, it will likely take some polishing before it gets to a competitive-friendly state.
Counter-Strike has been the number one competitive first-person shooter game in the world since 2012. There’s no doubt an update will shake up the competitive landscape, and hopefully, for the better. But only time will tell what the future holds for CSGO2, and we’re excited to see what Valve has in store for us.
