Counter-Strike 2

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Counter-Strike 2 (also colloquially referred to as Counter-Strike Source 2 or CS:GO Source 2, and CS2 for short) is a 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 was released on September 27th, 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 (e.g. Danger Zone) and features that CS:GO had, CS:GO being delisted on the store, and the game being incompatible with older PC's and macOS, or having performance and other technical issues. The Metacritic user reviews were later review bombed, alongside with Steam, which caused the recent reviews to briefly drop to "Mixed".

Content

Todo: Elaborate, what does any of this mean

• Counter-Strike 2 (game\csgo)
• Counter-Strike 2 Windows binaries
• Counter-Strike 2 Linux binaries

Game modes

Main article:  Counter-Strike: Global Offensive/Game Modes

Note:Most information here are from CS:GO, which may also applies to CS2.

Official Game Mode		Match length	Penalties for abandoning?	Description of official Gameplay
	Competitive Long Match Short Match	20-90 minutes	Yes	The classic game mode: Two teams of 5 players fight in a best of 30 rounds (Short Match: 16). In Bomb Defusal scenarios, Terrorists must plant a bomb at a target and defend it until it explodes - Counter-Terrorists must either stop them from planting or defuse the bomb before it detonates. In Hostage Rescue scenarios, Counter-Terrorists must find and escort a hostage - Terrorists must stop them. There are skill groups for ranked matchmaking so that ideally players are matched with enemies of a similar skill level. In unranked matchmaking, these skill groups are also regarded but not adjusted.
	Wingman	10-30 minutes	Yes	Like Competitive, but adjusted for 2v2 and for a smaller map or a map section, best of 16 rounds, rounds are shorter.
	Casual	10-20 minutes	No	Like Competitive but not binding ("casual"), with simplified and shortened gameplay: best of 15 rounds, shorter freezetime per round, no friendly fire, no team collision, free armor and free defuse kit/cutters.
	Deathmatch Team vs Team Free For All Classic	10 minutes	No	This is a single 10 minute round with instant respawns. The player's goal is to eliminate as many enemies as possible with whatever weapon they wish to use. Weapons are free and only rifles, SMGs, heavy weapons, pistols and the Zeus x27 may be bought. Players have a short invulnerability period to buy weapons before moving.
War Games
	Arms Race	5-10 minutes	No	This is a single extended round with instant respawn. All players start with the same weapon and get a new one each time they kill an enemy. The progression of unlocked weapons ends with the knife. The first player to get two kills with every weapon plus a kill with the golden knife wins the match.

Gallery

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See more screenshots

Limitations/Bugs

Important: Counter-Strike 2 is 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], which is no longer available as of December 2, 2023.

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 SSE 4.2 required (since September 29, 2023 update) 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 CPU with SSE4.2 support, 64-bit OS and DirectX 11 (or optionally, Vulkan) 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], which is no longer available as of December 2, 2023.

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 SSE 4.2 required (since September 29, 2023 update) 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 Note:Requires CPU with SSE4.2 support and Vulkan-compatible card, systems with 32-bit or OpenGL 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.

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
• Counter-Strike 2 on Counter-Strike Wiki (FANDOM)
• CS2 Community VAC
•  Counter-Strike 2 on Wikipedia
• 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 run DirectX 9 or a 32-bit version of Windows. Am I eligible for a Prime Status Upgrade refund?
   

   DirectX 9 and/or 32-bit Windows users are eligible for a Prime Status Upgrade refund if their purchase was made on Steam between the announcement of the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test (March 22, 2023) and the launch of Counter-Strike 2 (September 27, 2023).
   

   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.