Counter-Strike 2 beta test rollout leaves Neymar, xQc, m0NESY, more without access

Counter-Strike 2 has released its limited beta, giving access to various streamers, creators, and teams to try it out, but Valve has still left many notable figures in the scene and streaming world begging to get in.

The hype for Counter-Strike 2 was unreal to kickstart 2023, bordering the point of obsessiveness. From leaks in new NVIDIA drivers, to reports from Richard Lewis, to fans obsessively following every single Steam database update for the game, it’s been a journey. And finally, Valve stealthily released it on March 22 to much fanfare. 

The issue, however, is that not everyone is able to jump in right away. Given the beta’s rollout, with only select players gaining access, many of the biggest personalities of the game have been left behind at launch. Leaving them to beg the devs for a beta invite.

Who was left without Counter-Strike 2 beta access?

WarOwl, a veritable CSGO guru for those new to the game and longtime creator, criticized Valve for the inconsistent beta access in a tweet.

Saying, “I understand I’m not owed anything, but this is my career, I’ve spent over 10 years covering CS:GO, and without access, I cannot do my job, I am screwed.” Hours later, and he would eventually gain access, but laments the fact he had to beg for it. 

Neymar Jr, who you might know as just a football player, is a massive fan of CSGO. He regularly streams himself pugging on FaceIt, and even has an impressive skin collection. 

Despite being one of the biggest Brazilian CSGO streamers, and probably Brazil’s biggest icon, he wasn’t given access to the beta on day one.

Meanwhile, xQc also lamented his lack of access to the game, while watching tarik stream CS2. xQc’s CSGO streams have been fan favorites as his lack of technical skill in the game is always an enjoyable sight for many.

However, the Juicer’s lack of access was really down to his own incompetence as the official CS twitter account reached out to him multiple times and he simply didn’t respond to them. 

And content creators aren’t the only ones left in the dust. G2’s IGL Rasmus “Hooxi” Nielsen and star AWPer Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov were also left out of the beta whilst other players around them happily were trying it out. 

Even members of FaZe Clan, IGL Finn “karrigan” Andersen and AWPer Helvijs “broky” Saukants were left out from the drop while their teammates got to play it, going to show just how random the release truly was.

Thus, many CS fans are not happy that established players of the game were not given priority on day one while others got in ahead of the queue. For now, it’s simply down to chance but perhaps Valve will gradually open the floodgates in the days and weeks to come.