In a reveal that stunned the internet, Valve lifted the lid on ‘Counter-Strike 2’ at the end of March. It took the gaming world by storm, considering it was the first new Counter-Strike game to be uncovered in over a decade. It’s set to change the face of the esports industry and bring millions of new players into a fresh Counter-Strike experience, but what do we already know about the game?
Fortunately, there’s plenty of information readily available, as Valve has been relatively transparent with its development of CS2 – as it’s more commonly known. There are several key elements in CS2 that are going to make the game stand apart from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, which was released way back in 2012 and has been an esports staple for over ten years.
So, read on to learn everything we know about CS2 and how it’s going to be different from CSGO.
Change Is A Good Thing
CSGO wasn’t by any means a bad game, but it was sorely overdue a massive update. For ten years, it has maintained the top spot in the esports industry, boasting multi-million-dollar tournaments, tens of millions of players, and more competitive talent than the world of gaming has ever seen.
It’s also the leading game when it comes to esports betting. For those looking to make money by placing wagers on video game competitions, any CSGO odds present a wonderful opportunity to do so. On every betting platform that offers esports gambling markets, CSGO is always sitting at the top of the pile in terms of overall popularity.
When Counter-Strike 2 is released later on in 2023, it’ll almost instantly become the next best thing, especially as it’s an outright replacement for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
Valve has advised that CS2 will effectively be a ‘free upgrade’ over the top of CSGO. It’ll be totally free to consume, and any new player coming into the fold will thereafter be playing CS2, while CSGO becomes a thing of the past. There’s a small learning curve for existing players, as some elements of CS2 differ from what’s already present in CSGO, which some competitive players have been enjoying for more than ten years.
How Exactly Is CS2 Different From CSGO?
There are some massive changes coming to CS2, starting with the upgrades themselves. For the most part, the map pool remains the same as it was in CSGO, but almost every environment has received upgrades, amendments, and modifications. There have also been changes made to the UI and the effects seen in the game itself.
On the subject of effects, one thing that Valve is extremely proud of is the new responsive smoke mechanic, which sees smoke grenades take on remarkably dynamic properties, presenting entirely new ways to play.
There’s a massive overhaul that has seen the introduction of a ‘sub-tick’ feature, which makes the game more precise and accurate in terms of shooting and combat. It essentially shortens the ‘tick rate’ in the game, reducing the lag on servers.
As CS2 runs on the Source 2 Engine, there’s a new item workshop to be enjoyed by fans, and the entire game looks and feels better, smoother, and more responsive.
And players don’t need to worry about losing the ‘skins’ that they’ve unlocked or bought in CSGO, some of which can cost huge sums of money. When CS2 releases, all cosmetic items will be ported across.
So, while CSGO continues to smash its own peak concurrent player record, it’ll soon fade away, being replaced by CS2, which’ll likely start securing records of its own.
It’s an exciting time to be a Counter-Strike fan.
