If you’re an avid CS:GO fan, you may have spent a couple of sleepless nights over the past few weeks in eager anticipation of the release of ‘Counter-Strike 2’. The port of CS:GO into the Source 2 game engine has always been a big deal in the game’s community. In fact, rumors revolving around a potential Source 2 release have been looming within the CS:GO community for several years now.
The hype and excitement surrounding CS:GO Source 2 reached new heights after a report from seasoned esports journalist Richard Lewis surfaced on the internet.
CS:GO Source 2 Leaks, Compiled
According to the report, some sources who spoke with Lewis confirmed that a new version of Counter-Strike titled ‘Counter-Strike 2’ would be released shortly. On top of that, the report also claimed that it’s possible that a test version might be available as soon as March of 2023.
This wasn’t the only leak that we received during March 2023, as only a few days prior to the report, an executable named “csgos2” was discovered in the files of an NVIDIA driver upgrade at the end of February.
With the most recent installment, Global Offensive, having been published in 2012, this was the first definitive sign of a Source 2 upgrade for Counter-Strike.
The beta edition of Counter-Strike 2 is expected to be released in March 2023, and the full game will follow on April 1 at the latest.
The 128 tick servers that have been requested so frequently by CS:GO players are presumably coming to the Source 2 version of Counter-Strike at launch. Also, a better matching system is in the works to reduce reliance on ‘third-party’ matchmakers like FACEIT and ESEA.
According to reports out of Seattle, the game has already been tested by a group of experienced players at Valve’s headquarters.
Initial Public Testing of Counter-Strike 2: What To Expect?
The beta edition of Counter-Strike 2 is expected to be released in March 2023, and the full game will follow on April 1 at the latest.
Players of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive have long clamored for 128-tick servers, and it seems likely that they will be included in the game’s initial release of Counter-Strike: Source 2. In addition, improvements are being made to the pairing system so that “third-party” matchmakers like FACEIT and ESEA will be used less frequently.
Improvements to the game’s visuals are promised by the forthcoming iteration of Counter Strike. It is unclear, however, how this will affect the game’s compatibility with less powerful hardware. However, there is some apprehension that the upgrade will make the game too resource-intensive for users with less powerful computers.
The game reportedly underwent testing by a team of experts at Valve’s Seattle offices.
As Lewis points out, it is currently unclear how the new update will be implemented into the game’s highest, competitive tiers and how this might affect the existing skin economy. Whether the new game will merge with CS:GO like Dota 2’s Source 2 version did or stay distinct from CS:GO like previous CS installments is unknown.
Later on March 5, Valve leaker “Gabe Follower” corrected Lewis’s claim, saying that the new game would not be called “Counter-Strike 2” or renamed in any way. Rather, it will be CS:GO built on the Source 2 framework.
Counter-Strike 2: Expected Release Date
As mentioned earlier, the public beta of Counter-Strike 2 will reportedly be released by the end of March 2023. Taking a glance at the previous major updates that the game has received, it’s safe to say that the CS 2 update will go live between a Tuesday and a Thursday. The odds of the Source 2 update dropping on a weekend are almost non-existent.
With the above being said, we may soon witness a major overhaul taking over competitive Esports which would shift tides in favor of Valve and Counter Strike if things seem to be promisingly decent enough and defer from going south.
