As hype for a CS:GO 2 or Source 2 beta for Counter-Strike continues to build, new trademarks registered by Valve have sparked speculation about what the game will be called.
Expectations are that a Source 2 beta for CS:GO will be released this month, March 2023. This was first reported by Richard Lewis and then solidified by lots of CS:GO updates in the background on Steam.
Players have been on the edge of their seats for the whole month, but there is still no Source 2 CS:GO beta to download yet. However, the latest ‘leak’ to get the rumor mill going are official trademark applications made by Valve.
On March 17, the game publisher registered two new marks: “CS2” and “Counter-Strike”. Immediately, players presumed this will be used for the new Source 2 release of CS:GO.
CS2 and Counter-Strike trademarks
The new trademarks were highlighted by Twitter user Aquarius, who has been tracking all the little updates and developments regarding the Source 2 update for CS.
NEW COUNTER-STRIKE TRADEMARKS 😳 pic.twitter.com/R6iPHm7vxz
— Aquarius 🛹 (@aquaismissing) March 17, 2023
Filed by the Valve Corporation on March 17, the trademarks relate to “the categories of entertainment services, namely, providing online video games.”
It’s also confirmed that these trademarks, unsurprisingly, are connected to the CS:GO trademark, which is listed as a “related property” on the application.
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Will CS:GO be renamed Counter-Strike?
These new trademarks could indicate a number of possible changes for the CS:GO brand.
While you might assume that CS2 stands for ‘Counter-Strike 2’, others have suggested it could be ‘Counter-Strike Source 2’, or ‘CS:GO Source 2’.
As for the plain ‘Counter-Strike’ trademark, this could be for a total rebrand of CS:GO, where Valve drops the ‘Global Offensive’ part from the title.
One option will be that for the duration of the beta, the Source 2 version will be known as CS2, until the Source 2 version is merged with CS:GO proper, at which time the game could be rebranded as just ‘Counter-Strike’.
For now, this is all purely speculation, but these new trademarks are some of the first concrete evidence from Valve itself that changes are coming to this legendary shooter.
For more updates on the Source 2 version of CS:GO, use our hub here.