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Published: September 28, 2023

Written by: Stefan Velikov

  • Counter-Strike 2 was released on September 27, replacing CS:GO
  • The community seems ecstatic about the huge update
  • However, some think it should have also arrived with a bigger update to fix a lot of its issues

After more than half a year since it was announced, Counter-Strike 2 has finally replaced CS:GO and is available for anyone to download and try out.

Counter-Strike 2 Is Released

For over 20 years, the Counter-Strike series has been a staple of the FPS world, spawning a large player base and a rich esports scene. Global Offensive has been the flagship of the series for over a decade, but the time to bid farewell to it has finally come. Of course, in its place comes the hotly-anticipated Counter-Strike 2, which went live yesterday.

Ever since Valve announced it is working on CS2 back in February of this year, players have been impatiently waiting to hear when the release of the new game will be. The company initially set a vague release date of “summer 2023” but as the summer came and went, there was no CS2 and many fans wondered how late the game was going to be.

However, last week, Valve teased that CS2 might be coming out on September 27, and lo and behold, the company kept its promise, releasing the game yesterday. Players can now update their CS:GO game to the new version, which will turn it into Counter-Strike 2 (similarly to how Overwatch transformed into its second version last year). New players will have to download the game from the Steam page, but old players will have all their items and progress retained.

What Does Counter-Strike 2 Bring

Although it seems like a regular update to CS:GO, Counter-Strike 2 is a lot more. The game brings a new coat of paint to all of the maps and many of the weapons and other game assets. Perhaps an even bigger change is the engine, which has been overhauled totally, making everything behave slightly differently. Perhaps the biggest is the new smoke grenade physics, which will fill spaces and can be dispersed by HE grenades, which is expected to become a key strategy in top-level play.

Unfortunately, with the new engine and cosmetic changes, comes the need for a stronger PC to run the game, so if you have an ancient PC you may find yourself struggling to run it. In fact, even players with high-spec machines who have played during the Limited Test period have reported some issues. It’s likely Valve will have to look into these in the following weeks.

Speaking of said issues, although the majority of fans seem to be overjoyed about the new update, some said it felt somewhat less than what they expected. Complexity Gaming’s Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski was one of these players, saying he expected the release of CS2 would coincide with a big patch fixing a lot of these issues.

Many other players seemed to agree with EliGE’s words, but Valve has not yet announced it will release such an update. With many new players entering the game now, even more problems will likely surface, forcing Valve to act quickly and release patches.

Fortunately, Counter-Strike 2 is available to download and play right now on Steam for anyone and everyone, so you can go and try it out.

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Stefan Velikov

Stefan is a well-versed gamer who loves every aspect of gaming - including its most competitive nature. He is bringing you the latest updates from the world of esports as he painstakingly tracks dozens of competitions. 

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1
Live odds: CS:GO

00:00 AM

Home

Away

Wil
NRG
1.85
1.84

02:30 AM

Home

Away

M80
FLU
1.06
8.85

02:30 AM

Home

Away

Par
BOS
1.75
1.95

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