Counter-Strike also known as CS has long been a staple of the first-person shooter genre, captivating gamers around the world with its intense gameplay and tactical mechanics. With the release of the original game back on Windows in 1999 the series has since gone on to become a household name in the gaming community, spawning the sequels Counter Strike: Condition Zero, Counter Strike: Source and Counter Strike: Global Offensive.
Rumours have been circulating for the last 3 years about the possibility of a new instalment in the franchise, with much speculation of it being a new game or a mod or update to the existing game of CSGO but it wasn’t until recently that gamers received the first glimpse of the next chapter in the Counter-Strike story which is Counter-Strike 2.
Counter Strike 2 will be running on the latest version of the Source Engine aka Source Engine 2 ( Ironic that the name lines up with the counter strike 2 name ) Of which many of Valves titles have been ported or developed on since as early as 2015 ( Dota 2 ) and one third party title have ran on since 2015. This table shows the latest Source 2 engine game data that is available.
Source 2 Engine Games
| Year Released | Game | Developer |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Dota 2 | Valve – Ported from Source; originally released in 2013 |
| 2016 | Robot Repair | Valve – A tech demo included within The Lab; the rest were created using the Unity engine |
| 2018 | Artifact | Valve – Card Game |
| 2020 | Dota Underlords | Valve – First released in early access in 2019, discontinued updates 2022 |
| 2020 | Half-Life: Alyx | Valve – Made for virtual reality headsets |
| 2022 | Aperture Desk Job | Valve – Tech demo created for the Steam Deck |
| 2023 | Counter-Strike 2 | Valve – Port of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, originally released in 2012 |
| TBA | Sandbox | Facepunch Studios – Stylized as S&box; development shifted from Unreal Engine to Source 2 in 2020 |
Announced by Valve officially today over the counter strike twitter account, CS2 will run on Source Engine 2 and is billed as “an overhaul to every system, every piece of content, and every part of the C-S experience.”
Valve have released media such as videos previewing the various aspects of Counter Strike 2 such as new maps, smoke grenades and very interesting new functionalty called sub-tick which aims to improve latency and response times for players and functionality for a more rich, powerful responsive version of the game’s server software.
There is also the expectation that there will also feature a completely overhauled graphics engine, improved physics and animations and the new potential of new weapons and game modes to go alongside those that currently exist. The most interesting functionality that Valve appear to be adding to the game is the introduction of advanced AI technology, which promises to revolutionize the way players interact with the game. The new system, developed in-house by the CS2 team, will allow for more dynamic and unpredictable gameplay, with enemies using AI to react to player movements and tactics in real time.
On top of the single-player campaign, CS2 will have a reworked multiplayer mode, with new maps, modes and gameplay mechanics. Solo-player fans of the franchise can expect the same level of intensity and strategic gameplay in the multiplayer mode.
While there is still no exact date for CS2, the game will arrive sometime in summer 2023. A limited beta for the title is available beginning this week rolling out first to select CS: GO players.
