Valve has announced that Counter-Strike 2 will launch for PC in the summer of 2023 as a free upgrade to Counter-Strike Global Offensive.
This information was announced by Valve through their social media. If you’re interested in Valve games, you can check out our other articles here.
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Counter-Strike 2 Releases Summer 2023
Counter-Strike 2 is the biggest technical leap in Counter-Strike history, ensuring new features and updates for years to come.
All of the game’s new features will be revealed when it officially launches this summer, but the road to Counter-Strike 2 begins today as a Limited Test for some Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. During this testing period, Valve is evaluating a number of features to address any issues before the new version’s worldwide release.
Counter-Strike 2 is coming in the summer of 2023 as a free upgrade for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. So build your loadouts, hone your skills, and prepare yourself for what’s next!
What are the New Features Added?
Smoke Grenades are now dynamic volumetric objects that interact with the environment, lighting, fire, and explosions.
- Gameplay – Smoke can now interact with other gameplay events and create new opportunities. Bullets and HE grenades can push smoke to briefly clear visibility or expand occlusion.
- Expands to Fill Spaces Naturally – Now the smoke will seep out of open doors and broken windows, down and up, and extend down long corridors and merge with other fumes.
- Reacts to Lighting – In Counter-Strike 2, smoke particles work with an integrated lighting system that allows for more realistic light and color.
The sub-tick update is at the core of Counter-Strike 2. Previously, existing servers only evaluated the world in discrete time intervals (or ticks). Thanks to Counter-Strike 2’s sub-tick architecture, servers will know exactly when movement begins, shots are fired, or grenades are thrown.
Regardless of the tick rate, your movements and shots will be just as responsive and your grenades will always land the same way.
- Full Overhaul Maps – The overhauled map has been completely rebuilt from scratch, utilizing all the new Source 2 rendering tools and features.
- Upgrade Maps – This is a map that uses the new Source 2 lighting, including a physics-based rendering system that produces realistic materials, lighting, and reflections.
- Touchstone Maps – A classic map with a strong foundation that players can use to evaluate the gameplay changes from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to Counter-Strike 2. The map has improvements to lighting and character reading, but other than that nothing has been changed.
- Source 2 Tools – Source 2 tools and rendering features will be available to community mappers to make creation, experimentation, and iteration easier. Stay tuned for the Source 2 Item Workshop which will be available in Limited Test!
What about Inventory, Visual, UI, and Audio?
According to Valve, the entire inventory of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive inventory can be carried over to Counter-Strike 2.
Not only will you get to keep every item you’ve collected over the years, but everything will benefit from Source 2’s lighting and materials.
In addition to supporting legacy models and finishes, all stock weapons have been upgraded with high-resolution models, and some weapons finishes utilize these new models.
Valve
All visual effects have been updated in Counter-Strike 2. With the Source 2 lighting and particle system, there is a new look and behavior for “water, explosions, fire, smoke, muzzle flashes, bullet tracers, impact effects, and more”.
- Gameplay Visuals – In Counter-Strike 2, the most important gameplay visuals have been redesigned with readability in mind. Bullets’ impacts can be easily seen from a distance and directional blood impacts (which fade over time) give you more information as you move through the world.
- Environment Effects – Experience re-edited explosions, fire, C4 lighting, and more. Utilizing the Source 2 Engine and modern hardware, environmental effects in Counter-Strike 2 feature improved visual fidelity and greater consistency.
- UI Effects – The UI in Counter-Strike 2 has undergone a complete overhaul, including new visual effects across the HUD. These improvements not only look good, but also communicate important game states.
Valve added that the audio of Counter-Strike 2 has been reworked to “better reflect the physical environment, be more distinct, and express more of the game state”. This audio has been balanced by Valve for a more comfortable listening experience.
How to Join Limited Test Counter-Strike 2
According to Valve, there are several factors to gain access to this Limited Test:
Players are selected based on several factors deemed important by the Counter-Strike 2 development team, including (but not limited to) recent playtime on Valve’s official servers, trust factor, and Steam account status.
Valve
This means you can only wait for Valve to invite you to access the Limited Test. But rest assured, this access will be added over time leading up to its release in summer 2023.
To find out if you have limited trial access for Counter-Strike 2. This access will be displayed in a visual pop-up inviting you to use the limited trial access.
You can read more information about Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test access through this link.
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