Counter-Strike 2

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Counter-Strike 2 (also colloquially referred to as Counter-Strike Source 2 or CS:GO Source 2) is an video game developed by Valve. Announced on March 22, it was planned to be released around Summer 2023, but later it was delayed to September 27, 2023. The game is a remaster of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with new graphics, new contents and technical improvements. It is developed in Valve’s own Source 2 engine, the successor to Source. Prior to its release, Valve added users via CS:GO's game menu to the playtest.

This game has been released in September 27, 2023, completely replacing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. However this does not apply to the console version of CS:GO (for PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360), which remains available for purchase.

The game was generally positively received by critics. Player response to the game was however, mixed, primarily as a result of removed content and features that CS:GO had, CS:GO being delisted on the store, and the game was incompatible with their older PC, incompatible with macOS, or having performance and other technical issues. The Metacritic user reviews was later review bombed, alongside with Steam, which caused the recent reviews to drop to "Mixed".

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Limitations/Bugs

Important: Counter-Strike 2 does not have macOS support at launch, unlike CS:GO. Steam will automatically downloads the Windows/Linux version of the game anyway, which is non-functional on Mac systems without using Game Porting Toolkit^[Elaborate?], Wine, Boot Camp (which is used to run Windows on Mac hardware, except all Apple silicon/ARM models) and through virtualization (VMWare/Parallels). Later it is confirmed that Valve has officially drop support for macOS entirely, users who cannot run Counter-Strike 2 on Mac systems will be offered for Prime Status Upgrade refund^[1].

System Requirements

Windows

Windows Minimum Recommended Operating system (OS) Windows 10, Windows 11 64-bit Processor (CPU) 4 hardware CPU threads - Intel® Core™ i5 750 or higher, or AMD equivalent System memory (RAM) 8 GB Hard disk drive (HDD/SSD) 85 GB Video card (GPU) Video card must be 1 GB or more and should be a DirectX 11-compatible with support for Shader Model 5.0 Note:Unofficially works on Windows 7 and Windows 8 & Windows 8.1 until Steam drops support for these operating systems along with the Steam API update with the game in 2024. Support will not be provided for these operating systems however. Please note that using these operating systems may cause issues related to VAC. Note:Requires 64-bit OS and DirectX 11 compatible card, systems with 32-bit or DirectX 9 only card may chose to download the Legacy version of CS:GO instead if their hardware is incompatible, via the Beta tab on Steam Library.

macOS

This game is currently not available for macOS. As a result, since Oct 10, 2023, users may receive (CS:GO), via the csgo_legacy branch instead of CS2. Prior to that date, users will have the Windows version of CS2 downloaded to the Mac systems, which is non-functional without using Game Porting Toolkit (or Wine), running Windows on Mac via Boot Camp (Intel Macs only) or using virtualization software. Later it is confirmed that Valve has dropped support for macOS entirely, users who cannot run Counter-Strike 2 on Mac systems will be offered for Prime Status Upgrade refund[1], and instead.

Linux

Linux Minimum Recommended Operating system (OS) Ubuntu 20.04, SteamOS 3.0 or other Linux distros. Processor (CPU) 4 hardware CPU threads - Intel® Core™ i5 750 or higher, or AMD equivalent System memory (RAM) 8 GB Hard disk drive (HDD/SSD) 85 GB Video card (GPU) AMD GCN+ or NVIDIA Kepler+ with up-to-date Vulkan drivers. Support for VK_EXT_graphics_pipeline_library highly recommended. Sound (audio device) Any

See Also

• Counter-Strike 2 Workshop Tools
• Counter-Strike 2 Dedicated Servers

External links

• Website
• Updates & Patch Notes (previous post will contain both CS:GO and CS2 post)
• Steam Store page
• About playtest. https://steamcommunity.com/faqs/steam-help/view/5ED2-ED8E-81F4-0C18

References

1. Steam Support - Legacy CS:GO Version
   I can't run CS2 because I play on a Mac. Am I eligible for a Prime Status Upgrade refund?
   macOS users are eligible for a refund if most of their CS:GO playtime was on macOS and they played CS:GO on a Mac between the announcement of the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test (March 22, 2023) and the launch of Counter-Strike 2 (September 27, 2023), regardless of when they purchased their Prime Status Upgrade. CD keys, gifts, and accounts with bans are not eligible for a refund. Refunds will be offered until December 1, 2023.