The Legends Are True. ‘Counter Strike 2’ is Real!
One of Valve’s oldest shooters finally gets the sequel treatment. Counter Strike 2 is coming, everybody. Get pumped!
Counter-Strike started life as a mod for Half-Life in 1999 before Valve saw the potential in it and acquired the IP while also giving the developers who created it jobs in 2000. The series fanbase continued to grow over the years with new releases like Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, Counter-Strike Online, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The main objective of Counter-Strike is for the “terrorist” team to set up bombs, kill NPCs, etc while the “counter-terrorist” team tries to stop them from succeeding.
The reason I say the main objective is that the culture of Counter-Strike is a unique one where they make up their own rules sometimes. One of the most famous examples of that is “Knife Rounds” where no one uses guns and only knives to kill. The games have also gotten a huge amount of mods over the years that eventually became done in other games. It would be an understatement to say the series is incredibly influential on shooters.
Rumors have been swirling for months now that Valve was working on a direct sequel to the original Counter-Strike. Sequels to Valve games are incredibly, incredibly rare with the running gag that they cannot count to 3 since none of them have ever had a threequel. The evidence was piling up too much to ignore. Well, the cat is out of the bag and the wait is way smaller than anyone expected.
via Valve
Summer Wars Are Upon Us!
Valve officially announced that Counter-Strike 2 was not only real but would be coming out this Summer as a free update to the existing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive game. This means all players who own CS:GO will be getting the brand-new version without needing to do anything. The game will also be starting a test run among select CS:GO players to ensure the new features of the game will run smoothly before a worldwide release.
“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 CS:GO 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 arrives this summer as a free upgrade to CS:GO. So build your loadout, hone your skills, and prepare yourself for what’s next!”
via Valve
The engine used for the game will be Source 2 and will be releasing new mod tools as well with the release “for community map makers to make it easier to build, experiment and iterate.” They have ensured every stock item and character will be upgraded with the new version, so people will not need to work on getting their favorite stuff again.
Counter Strike 2: New Features Galore!
Valve said that many of the new features have not been revealed yet and will once it gets closer to launch in the summer. The things shown off though are a sight to behold for first-person shooter players. First up is that the smoke grenades will function more realistically by filling up areas more naturally instead of just being one big puff in an area. The cloud will also react to the lighting in the area it is in giving off an even more realistic smoke screen. The smoke cloud will also react to outside interference to clear out areas of smoke like bullets or grenades. This will add a whole new depth to playing with them on either side.
New More Responsive Servers
One of the most exciting developments is that the game will be using something called “Sub-tick updates.” The games currently use specific time intervals called “Ticks” to let the servers know when someone has fired their gun, moved, etc. This way it can relay that info to all players in a way that ensures the person who fired first gets the kill instead of someone coming in 30 seconds later. It is not flawless since it all depends on the person’s connections and delays can happen if someone’s connection is spotty. So if you ever thought “I totally clicked the mouse or hit that button” and died “unfairly,” you actually might have. The sub-tick’s goal is to minimize issues like that as much as possible by updating the servers more often than ever before.
Counter Strike 2 Features New Map, Character Upgrades, and Effects
The biggest changes are that the existing stock maps have been fully rebuilt with Source 2. This will make each level look more realistic with graphical upgrades like lighting, reflections, and better material looks. The player models will also react differently based on where they are shot to give different blood splatters.
Explosions will also get a huge upgrade in visuals based on what is used like the fire from a thrown Molotov cocktail or an area blown up with C4. The UI will also be getting a small facelift as well. Valve will be releasing more info as time goes on, so keep an eye on the official site for more info.
I tried to get into Counter-Strike as a young lad, but I was never able to get any good at it. This was never because the game was bad and was always a PC gaming skill issue. I have known many Counter-Strike players who have fond “war stories” of their time playing the series over the years. I am like that with Halo and I am excited for Counter-Strike players to have a whole new generation of players to share these stories with online.
Counter-Strike 2 will be out in Summer 2023 on Steam.
“Let’s make this right as rain.” – SAS, Counter-Strike
