Counter-Strike 2 Announced, Coming Summer 2023

Valve has announced that Counter-Strike 2 is coming and is slated for a Summer 2023 release on Steam. A limited test of the game is now live and is being played by select players and streamers.

How do I join the Counter-Strike 2 beta test?

If you’re eager to participate in the first Counter-Strike 2 test, all you can do is pray you are selected for now. Valve released a lengthy FAQ explaining the ongoing test, which currently only features game modes such as Deathmatch and Unreanked Competitive matchmaking on the map Dust2.

As for the reveal of the game itself, Valve focused on three things right off the gate – map upgrades and overhauls, improved tick rate in games, and responsive smoke grenades. The company released three videos explaining each one. 

Here’s a quick description from Counter-Strike 2’s official website detailing the title.

“Counter-Strike 2 is the largest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike‘s history, ensuring new features and updates for years to come.

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 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players. During this testing period, we’ll be evaluating a subset of features to shake out any issues before the worldwide release.”

Counter-Strike 2 will be replacing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and is considered a free major update to the game. The way the game was announced was uncommon as it feels more like a massive update rather than a new title altogether, so it might come out as misleading for those out of the loop with Counter-Strike for years.