After many rumors over the past few years about Valve's new title based on the Source 2 engine, last March 24, the launch of Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) was officially announced.
The CS:GO community has been waiting many years for a "big update" or a new game to replace their beloved shooter, as for many in the scene, the game was falling behind titles such as VALORANT, Apex Legends, and Overwatch.
While the game has been tested only by a few professional players and personalities in the esports scene and on a single map, Dust 2, since the announcement of CS2's release, the fan base exploded due to all the new features that Valve has barely announced.
Currently, the release date of Counter-Strike 2 is not officially announced. However, considering the initial rough date of Summer 2023 and the fact that there are still several international CS:GO tournaments to be played, we will likely have to wait until September to enjoy the game.
Valve announced the arrival of Counter-Strike 2 on March 22, 2023, with videos showing some of the new features the new title will bring.
This undoubtedly caused a lot of excitement in the CS:GO community, especially because, at the beginning of March, there were different leaks regarding the arrival of a new game.
After Valve's announcement regarding the release of CS2, the entire gaming community has been on tenterhooks waiting for new information regarding what the new game, which will arrive in summer 2023, will bring.
Below, we will show you the chronology of the most important events regarding CS2 so far.
The game is expected to launch worldwide in the summer of 2023. However, Valve has not yet released an exact date regarding the official launch, but this will likely be between September and October.
First of all, the first thing to clarify is that CS2 will be a free game available on the Steam platform from the moment it is officially launched for everyone in the community to download.
Another frequently asked question regarding the release of CS2 is whether it will be a standalone game or an update to CS:GO. Counter-Strike 2 will replace CS:GO, released in 2012, meaning the new title will arrive as an update to the current game.
Another of the community's concerns was whether their skins would carry over to CS2. Valve has emphasized on different occasions that all the skins players have in their inventories will transfer perfectly to CS2.
In addition, they have also pointed out that these will have a better visualization within the game thanks to the features offered by the new Source 2 engine.
Regarding the maps, what is known so far is that maps such as Dust 2, Italy, Mirage, Nuke, Overpass, and Train, are the ones that will be available from the first moment in the game. However, there may be many more, but Valve has not published anything about it.
Finally, the gameplay of CS2, according to professional players who have tested the game through the closed beta, is very similar to CS:GO.
Weapons, recoil, and sprays are similar, so adapting to the new game should not be too complicated. However, the theme of the new smokes and the Molotov effects can be fundamental when setting up some team strategies.
There is no doubt that this is what all Counter-Strike lovers have been waiting for for many years, especially those of us who came from CS 1.6, who have enjoyed two completely different games.
The new title should bring much more dynamics to the game and new challenges for many players. During the transition from CS 1.6 to CS:GO in 2012, we could see how many players leaped in quality in the new title, and this may happen again in the coming months with CS2.
So far, the CS2 closed beta has been limited to a very small number of players selected by Valve through various specific requirements. As a result, during these two months, we have observed the game's new features only in Dust 2, one of the most iconic maps in Counter-Strike history.
With the arrival of CS2, the player base will likely grow exponentially. However, these players may not be new players or anything like that, but those who decided to jump to VALORANT in 2020 claimed that the monotony of CS:GO had made them "bored" with the game.
Moreover, many who made this jump have been very happy testing the CS2 beta, so they will likely return to their beloved Counter-Strike in the coming months.
Finally, speaking of the competitive scene, we can expect the competition to be much higher.
It also takes into account all the results of the BLAST.tv Paris Major, it is expected that with the transition to CS2, many Tier 2 teams will be unveiled and can give very nice battles at the highest competitive level.
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