Valve officially announced Counter-Strike 2 today after weeks of teases, speculation, and rumors. The developer calls this "the largest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike's history" and I'm inclined to believe it.
Counter-Strike 2 will launch to everyone starting in Summer of 2023. Counter-Strike 2 will be a free upgrade to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Some Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players will be able to play this starting today. Those who have played Global Offensive recently on Valve's official servers, those with a good trust factor, and with a good Steam account standing may see a notification waiting for them on the main menu in Global Offensive.
More details on this test can be found through this Steamcommunity.com FAQ page.
Counter-Strike 2 will bring Valve's long-running shooter on to the Source 2 engine. Valve won't announce the full range of new features until the game launches, but they did provide a look at some of the changes players can expect. These features will be the focal point of those playing the test in order to get the game ready for its full release this Summer.
Here's some of what CS2 will mean for players:
- Upgraded and overhauled maps
- Game-changing dynamic smoke grenades
- Tick-rate-independent gameplay
- Redesigned visual effects and audio
- All of a player's CS:GO items go with them to CS2​
Tick rate no longer matters for moving, shooting, or throwing.
Sub-tick updates are the heart of Counter-Strike 2. Previously, the server only evaluated the world in discrete time intervals (called ticks). Thanks to Counter-Strike 2’s sub-tick update architecture, servers know the exact instant that motion starts, a shot is fired, or a ‘nade is thrown.
As a result, regardless of tick rate, your moving and shooting will be equally responsive and your grenades will always land the same way.​
Sub-tick updates are the heart of Counter-Strike 2. Previously, the server only evaluated the world in discrete time intervals (called ticks). Thanks to Counter-Strike 2’s sub-tick update architecture, servers know the exact instant that motion starts, a shot is fired, or a ‘nade is thrown.
As a result, regardless of tick rate, your moving and shooting will be equally responsive and your grenades will always land the same way.​
Cleaner, brighter, better. Maps in Counter-Strike 2 are receiving upgrades and overhauls which leverage all of the new Source 2 tools and rendering features.
Smoke Grenades are now dynamic volumetric objects that interact with the environment, and react to lighting, gunfire, and explosions.
If you would like any of the Counter-Strike 2 logos for your own use, the supplied files below should help you out with content creation.
