Valve Announces Counter-Strike 2
Valve has announced Counter-Strike 2, a new entry into the long-running multiplayer tactical first-person shooter series.
Revealed today via the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Twitter account, Counter-Strike 2 is in development. The reveal described the upcoming game as being "an overhaul to every system, every piece of content, and every part of the C-S experience."
According to a new blog post, Counter-Strike 2 will officially launch this summer, however a Limited Test for select CS:GO players is set to go live later today. As part of the announcement, Valve listed some of the gameplay features and changes players will experience as part of the Limited Test.
Today we're excited to announce Counter-Strike 2. Counter-Strike 2 is an overhaul to every system, every piece of content, and every part of the C-S experience. First, let's talk about smoke grenades: pic.twitter.com/iTtguRHJ0S
— CS:GO (@CounterStrike) March 22, 2023
Smoke now interacts with other gameplay events, creating new opportunities. Bullets and HE grenades can push smoke to briefly clear sightlines or expand occlusion. Additionally, smoke will seep out of doorways and broken windows, descend stairs and combine with other smokes.
Tick rate also "no longer matters for moving, shooting, or throwing." According to the post, servers know the exact instant that motion starts. As a result, player movements and shots will be equally responsive and grenades will always land the same way.
Players will see an improvement to the game's maps, having been been fully rebuilt from the ground up and making full use of Source 2 tools.
But, what's perhaps the best news for long-time CS:GO players, items from CS:GO will carry over to Counter-Strike 2. All items will benefit from Source 2 lighting and materials. "In addition to supporting legacy models and finishes, all stock weapons have been upgraded with high-resolution models, and some weapon finishes take advantage of these new models."
Concluding the blog, Valve said, "The Limited Test only evaluates a subset of Counter-Strike 2's features, so that major issues can be resolved before the summer. But there’s much more to come. In just a few months we’ll reveal all of the details of Counter-Strike 2, and we can’t wait to share it with you."