Counter-Strike 2

A screenshot of Counter-Strike 2, demonstrating gameplay from the Terrorist side on the map Anubis. Note the volumetric smoke cloud, a feature new to Counter-Strike 2.

Like previous games in the series, Counter-Strike 2 is a multiplayer tactical first-person shooter, where two teams compete to complete different objectives depending on the gamemode selected. Players are split into two teams, the Counter-Terrorists and the Terrorists. Each gamemode has different objectives and is split across several rounds, and in-between rounds the player is able to purchase different weapons and equipment to use. In most gamemodes, the player has one-life-per-round, which will result in them being unable to play until the round is over if they die.[1]

The game has six different gamemodes in which players can compete: Competitive, Premier, Casual, Wingman, Deathmatch, and Hostage.[1][2][3][4] Competitive, the game's primary mode, puts two teams of five (i.e 5v5) against each other, with the goal of the Terrorists being to plant a C4 explosive at one of two bombsites in a map or to kill every Counter-Terrorists, and the goal of the Counter-Terrorists being to either kill all terrorists or defuse the explosive. Upon completing their objectives, the team will win their round and gain a point. A total of 24 rounds can be played each game, with the first team to reach 13 winning.[1][2] Premier plays similarly to Competitive, but instead of allowing the players to queue into whichever map they desire, Premier relies on a map voting and banning system in which the players participate. It also follows a ranking system whereby, in lieu of the previous ranking system, players are given a numerical rating based on their performance, and in addition there are now global/regional leaderboards.[2] The previous ranking system still exists in the Competitive mode, however the ranks are now determined on a per-map basis.[3] Casual is a mode that plays identically to Competitive, but without the ranking systems of Competitive and Premier; the player count is also doubled from 5v5 to 10v10.[1] Wingman puts only two players on each team and features only one bombsite, with the first team to reach nine points winning.[5] Deathmatch puts players into a map with no teams, with the only objective being to kill each other repeatedly.[4] Hostage puts the one team in control of a group of hostages, which the other team must save from captivity.[2][4]

A comparison between the Global Offensive version of de_nuke (top, using Source) and the Counter-Strike 2 version (bottom, using Source 2), demonstrating the game's improvement to graphics.

Counter-Strike 2 was developed with the Source 2 game engine as an update to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and various aspects of Global Offensive were updated to use the features of the engine.[6] It is the first entry in the Counter-Strike series in over ten years.[7] Alongside the engine changes, the game was developed alongside new server architecture, allowing for "sub-tick" gameplay that synchronizes with player input.[8][9] Additional new mechanics include "smoke physics", a feature where the smoke generated by a smoke grenade can be altered through extra grenades or gunshots.[10][11]

Many maps from Global Offensive were given upgrades to take advantage of the features of Source 2, including new lighting and enhanced textures.[8][12] Valve created three different groups to place maps into when reconstructing them: "Touchstone" for maps that were unchanged in layout (ex. Dust II), "Upgrades" for maps given large-scale graphical upgrades with the features of Source 2, and "Overhauls" for maps reconstructed from the ground up.[13][14] In addition, all cosmetic items from Global Offensive were transferred to Counter-Strike 2, with some weapon finishes receiving updates to use the updated model and material configurations that were applied to all default weapons.[15]

Following rumors of a Source 2 update for Global Offensive earlier that month,[16] Counter-Strike 2 was officially announced in March 2023,[17] and three videos demonstrating changes made from Global Offensive were released.[17][18] Later that day, a beta version of Counter-Strike 2, known as the "Limited Test" was released as an update for Global Offensive.[19] Throughout the existence of the Limited Test, upgraded maps and new aspects to the game were released over time.[14] On September 1, 2023, the Limited Test was released to all that purchased Global Offensive before it became free-to-play in 2018 and were active in competitive matchmaking.[20]

Counter-Strike 2 released to the public on September 27, 2023, replacing Global Offensive on Steam. This took Global Offensive down, with the exception of community servers accessible via a launch option, and the long-discontinued version for the Xbox 360.[21][22][23] Various features from Global Offensive were removed, such as the "Arms Race" and "Danger Zone" gamemodes,[24] and all 167 in-game achievements were removed.[25] Alongside this, only ten maps were included at launch.[26]

• Official website