It's Real: Counter-Strike 2 Launches This Summer With Upgraded Graphics

Time to rejoice: Valve is finally giving us a sequel to Counter-Strike, one of the most famous multiplayer first-person shooters ever. 

Amid rumors about the game, Valve on Wednesday introduced Counter-Strike 2, calling it the “largest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike’s history.”

The sequel promises to contain modern graphics while retaining the classic mechanics of the original Counter-Strike. The title will also arrive this summer as a free upgrade to the existing, free-to-play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and players can bring existing legacy items they own into the new experience.  

“All of the game’s new features will be revealed when it officially launches this summer, but the road to Counter-Strike 2 begins today as a Limited Test for select CS:GO players,” the company said on a new website for the sequel. 

In a tweet, Valve is indicating long-time and active players of CS:GO will be first to get test access.

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For those who have to wait, Valve has released three videos highlighting new features for Counter-Strike 2, which include updating the maps in the original game in a variety of different ways. For example, some maps have merely received visual upgrades, while other environments have been “fully rebuilt from the ground up.” 

Counter-Strike 2 is also built on a new game engine, capable of simulating more life-like physics, including the gas from a smoke grenade. The sequel also updates the “tick rate,” adding “sub ticks” so your mouse and keyboard actions will be rendered into the game more precisely. 

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“Previously, the server only evaluated the world in discrete time intervals (called ticks),” Valve added. “Thanks to Counter-Strike 2’s sub-tick update architecture, servers know the exact instant that motion starts, a shot is fired, or a ‘nade is thrown.”

Other updates include revamped visuals for bullet impacts, explosions and environmental effects, along with changes to the user interface. Valve says today’s limited test will only evaluate a “subset of Counter-Strike 2's features, so that major issues can be resolved before the summer.”