Counter-Strike 2 is Confirmed and its Limited Test Has Already Begun
Nearly ten years after CS: GO launched, Counter-Strike 2 has officially been announced.
CS: Go or Counter-Strike: Global Operations to give it its full name launched onto the PC in 2012 and is set to be replaced by Counter-Strike 2. The surprise reveal came last night, along with plenty of information about how the new game will work.
Is it a sequel? Not exactly, despite the 2 after the name. It’s more of a massive, massive overhaul. So maps will be moved over to the new game and all the things you’ve unlocked or purchased will come too.
What’s going to be different about this follow-up? Valve is revealing the changes piece by piece. But the biggest change so far seems to be way smoke works. Instead of being a static effect, smoke will flow. It’ll roll down stairs and through doors and so on. Bullets and grenade explosions can also pierce or push smoke.
If you’re not a CS:GO player, that may not sound like much. But smoke is one of the main methods players have of concealing themselves. So having it act more realistically is a big deal.
Also, it’ll feature “sub-tick update architecture”, which means that bullets, grenades and so forth should be more accurate. If you throw a grenade it’ll be communicated to the server almost immediately, doing away with related lag.
The maps themselves will also feature realistic lighting and more, since Counter-Strike 2 will make use of the Source 2 engine. Despite the name, that has nothing to do with Half-Life 2. The only Half-Life game to make use of it has been Half-Life: Alyx.
You can find out more from the official Counter-Strike 2 site. The game will be available on PC – free – this Summer. There’s also a limited test going on, right now, but that’s invite only. So existing CS:GO players are likely to get an invite. And if you don’t, you’ll probably have to wait till Summer.
