Counter-Strike Global Offensive has thrilled players for the last decade with its unparalleled FPS action, but the time for a new Counter-Strike game appears to be fast approaching. Rumours of a potential Counter-Strike 2 release date have been whispered in the CSGO community, and now it is alleged developer Valve is ready to unveil a revamped CSGO experience on the Source 2 engine.
According to a report from Richard Lewis, rumblings of the heavily rumoured Counter-Strike 2 could soon come to fruition. Recently, the CS:GO-focused account ‘Gabe Follower 2‘ notes that “NVIDIA drivers introduced support for unknown app executables called ‘csgos2.exe’ and ‘cs2.exe'”. Now, Lewis claims that “sources have reached out to this publication to inform us that not only is the new version of Counter-Strike very real but it’s also right around the corner.”
It has been speculated that a rejuvenated version of CS:GO has been quietly in the works for some time, which would take advantage of the technical offerings within the Source 2 engine. Lewis’ sources allege that “the new version is almost certainly set to be released under the title Counter-Strike 2.” Additionally, the report claims that the Counter-Strike 2 release date “for the beta is in this month of March with April 1 at the outside.”
To compete with the likes of FPS giant titles like Valorant, the report suggests that the implementation of 128 tick servers is a priority for Counter-Strike 2. “[My] sources confirmed that this would be the case and that this feature would likely be ready at the launch of the beta,” Lewis explains.
Presently the CSGO servers utilise 64 ticks, meaning that the CSGO servers have less processing time than the Riot Games shooter. With this feature supposedly on the cards, it’ll be a treat for getting the drop on your enemies.
If you’ve experienced your fair share of match-making issues within CSGO, then it might be a fine time to return to the franchise. “The game is also set to include a much-improved match-making system […] the game was ‘about ready to go’ and [it has been] said that it had even already been tested by an unnamed group of professional players that were flown out in secret to Valve’s headquarters in Seattle,” Lewis teases.
Valve has yet to officially confirm the existence of Counter-Strike 2, let alone the alleged Counter-Strike 2 release date. Whether you’re on PC or wielding the power of the Steam Deck, April 1 might not be a joke after all.