At long last, Counter-Strike 2 has officially launched and is no longer just limited to a select group of players in its beta phase. Here’s everything you need to know.
The question about a successor to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – or, at least, a massive overhaul to CSGO – has been floating around the Counter-Strike community for a number of years.
Valve finally put that speculation to rest when they announced CS2. It would be an upgrade to follow-on from CS:GO, but players will be able to retain their inventory. Guns, knives, other skins, and maps have been given a facelift as well – for better or worse in some instances.
CS2 was slated to release in “Summer 2023,” which prompted rumors that it would come out at some point in August. However, with September just about to come to a close, it is finally out of the beta phase and available to everyone.
CS2 has, finally, launched for all on Steam
That’s right, if you didn’t manage to get into the CS2 limited test, you don’t have to worry anymore, the game is available for everyone to play.
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If you previously owned Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, you’ll just need to update your game through Steam.
On the flip side, if for some reason you didn’t own CS:GO – one, what have you been doing for the last decade? – and two, you’ll have to go into the Steam marketplace and simply download CS2 as a fresh new game.
— CS2 (@CounterStrike) September 27, 2023
As noted, things have changed a fair bit to what you might have come to know in CS:GO. You’ll have to adjust monitor resolutions, as well as get to grips with different console commands, and a few other things.
Ranks are also being overhauled with Premier ratings being dished out to players, allowing you to vault up the leaderboards. It’s a somewhat new world, but there is plenty to be familiar with too.