Earlier today, we covered the news that Valve has officially announced that Counter-Strike 2 is indeed in development and will be released later this year. Now, less than 24 hours after announcing the game, Valve is back, sharing more information about the upcoming title.
In a surprise announcement early this morning, Valve unveiled Counter-Strike 2 while also releasing a series of three videos showcasing some key game changes fans can look forward to, including improved grenades, trick rates to make games less laggy as well as the redesign of a few of the games most beloved maps including Dust 2, Nuke, and Inferno.
Valve also announced that starting today, some select players could try out Counter-Strike 2 in a limited test. Now, thanks to an updated FAQ section of Counter-Strike 2’s Steam page, even more information about the upcoming game has been revealed.
First, we now know that Counter-Strike 2 will run on Source 2, the game engine used to create Half-Life: Alyx and the Steam Deck tech demo Aperture Desk Job and we also know that skins and bans will be carried over. In the FAQ, Valve confirmed that all weapon fishers and stickers players have earned over the last decade of playing CS: GO would be made available in Counter-Strike 2, allowing players to keep some of the progress they’ve made, even if only from a cosmetic standpoint.
Valve also revealed that players who have previously been caught cheating with Valve’s anti-cheat system wouldn’t be allowed a chance at redemption with the upcoming game, as VAC or game bans will be carried over. It’s also confirmed that competitive cooldowns will be shared between the two games, meaning that if you have a competitive cooldown on CS: GO, you won’t be able to matchmake in Counter-Strike 2, the same for the other way around.
Counter-Strike 2 will be released between June and September of 2023 exclusively for PC.