Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 is a 2023 free-to-play tactical first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve. It is the fifth entry in the Counter-Strike series, developed as an updated version of the previous entry, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (2012). The game was announced on March 22, 2023, and was released on September 27, 2023, for Windows and Linux, replacing Global Offensive on Steam.

Like its predecessor, the game pits two teams, the Counter-Terrorists and the Terrorists, against each other in various objective-based game modes; additional game modes that stray away from this setup are also included. Counter-Strike 2 features major technical improvements over Global Offensive, including a move from the Source game engine to Source 2, improved graphics, and a new "sub-tick" server architecture. In addition, many maps from Global Offensive were updated to take advantage of the features of Source 2, with some maps receiving complete overhauls.

Upon release, Counter-Strike 2 received generally favorable reviews from critics, with praise for its gunplay and overhauled maps. In contrast, player reception was mixed, and the game received thousands of negative user reviews on Steam, becoming one of the lowest-rated Valve titles on the platform; criticism was directed at the game's performance, the removal of several features that had been present in Global Offensive, and the discontinuation of support for the macOS operating system, which was supported by Global Offensive.

Gameplay


Counter-Strike 2 is a multiplayer tactical first-person shooter, in which two teams, the Counter-Terrorists and the Terrorists, compete to complete different objectives, depending on the game mode selected. Most game modes play out over several rounds; in-between rounds, players are able to purchase different weapons and equipment to use. In most game modes, players have a single life per-round; if a player dies during a round, they will be unable to play until the beginning of the next round. New gameplay mechanics in Counter-Strike 2 include volumetric "smoke physics", a feature where the smoke generated by a smoke grenade grows to fill spaces, and can be altered in real time by gunshots or through the use of hand grenades. Additionally, the game features a revised weapon loadout system, which only allows players to bring five pistols, five "mid-tier" weapons (i.e SMGs and shotguns), and five rifles with them into a match, for a total of fifteen weapons.

The game features two primary game modes: Competitive and Premier. Competitive puts two teams of five against each other, with the goal of the Terrorists being to plant a C4 explosive at one of two bombsites in a map or to kill every Counter-Terrorist, and the goal of the Counter-Terrorists being to either kill all Terrorists or defuse the explosive. The team that completes their objectives will win the round and gain a point. A total of twenty-four rounds can be played each game, with the first team to reach thirteen winning. Premier plays similarly to Competitive, but instead of allowing the players to queue into whichever map they desire, Premier relies on a map voting and banning system in which the players participate. It also follows a revised ranking system, whereby—in lieu of Global Offensive's ranking system, which grouped players into eighteen different skill ranks—players are given a numerical rating based on their performance. The previous ranking system still exists in Competitive, but the ranks are now determined on a per-map basis.

In addition to the main competitive game modes, Counter-Strike 2 also includes five additional game modes: Wingman, Casual, Deathmatch, Hostage, and Arms Race. Wingman puts two players on each team and features only one bombsite, with the first team to reach nine points winning. Casual plays identically to Competitive, with the main difference being an increase in the number of players on each team. Deathmatch puts players into a map with no teams, with the only objective being to gain most kills before the match ends. Hostage puts the Terrorists in control of a group of hostages, which the Counter-Terrorists must save from captivity. Arms Race plays very differently from other modes, featuring no menu to buy weapons or money system. Instead, every two kills a player gets will grant them a completely different weapon, repeating until players eventually obtain a golden knife. The first player to kill someone with the golden knife wins the game.

Development


Valve developed Counter-Strike 2 with the Source 2 game engine as an update to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (2012). Various aspects of Global Offensive were updated during development to use the features of Source 2. It is the first entry in the Counter-Strike series in over ten years. In addition to the engine changes, the game was developed alongside new server architecture, allowing for "sub-tick" gameplay that more accurately synchronizes with player input. Valve Studio Orchestra also produced a new soundtrack for Counter-Strike 2, which was released to digital platforms by Ipecac Recordings on November 1, 2023.

Many maps from Global Offensive were given upgrades to take advantage of the features of Source 2, including new lighting and physically-based materials. Valve created three different groups to place maps into when reconstructing them: "Touchstone" for maps that were unchanged in layout (ex. Dust II), "Upgrades" for maps given large-scale graphical upgrades with the features of Source 2 (ex. Nuke), and "Overhauls" for maps reconstructed from the ground up (ex. Inferno). Additionally, all cosmetic items from Global Offensive, including weapon skins, knives, and gloves, were transferred to Counter-Strike 2.

Release
Following rumors of a Source 2 update for Global Offensive earlier that month, Counter-Strike 2 was officially announced on March 22, 2023, and three videos demonstrating changes made from Global Offensive were released. Later that day, a beta version of Counter-Strike 2, known as the "Limited Test", was released to select Global Offensive players. Throughout the existence of the Limited Test, new aspects of the game were made available for testing via updates, including upgraded maps, the revised weapon loadout system, and new authoring tools that allow players to design custom maps, weapon skins, and stickers. On September 1, 2023, the Limited Test was released to all that purchased Global Offensive before it became free-to-play in 2018 and were active in competitive matchmaking.

Counter-Strike 2 released to the public on September 27, 2023, replacing Global Offensive on Steam. This took Global Offensive down, with the exception of community servers, which are accessible via a "legacy" branch of Global Offensive. Several features from Global Offensive were removed, including the "Arms Race" and "Danger Zone" game modes, various multiplayer maps, such as Train and Cache, and all 167 in-game achievements. In addition, support for the macOS operating system and older hardware configurations, including DirectX 9 and 32-bit operating systems, was discontinued, with future updates for Counter-Strike 2 being set to release only on 64-bit Windows and Linux systems.

Monetization
As with Global Offensive, Counter-Strike 2 employs a free-to-play model; players are able to access the majority of the game's contents without paying an up-front fee, with the exception of the Premier game mode, access to which requires the purchase of a "Prime" status upgrade. Players who choose to purchase the Prime upgrade also obtain access to a weekly "care package" drop, which they earn through gaining experience points and leveling up their profile within a Prime-exclusive leveling system. Upon earning a care package, players are presented with four rewards, which can include weapon skins, weapon cases (i.e loot boxes), and graffiti sprays, and must select two of these rewards. Additionally, players can purchase cosmetic items through the Steam Community Market.

Post-release updates
In November 2023, Steam Workshop support was enabled for Counter-Strike 2, allowing players to submit custom maps to the Workshop and play them in offline matches and on community-hosted servers. In February 2024, the Arms Race game mode from Global Offensive was added to Counter-Strike 2 as part of the "Call to Arms" update; the update also includes revised versions of the Global Offensive maps "Baggage" and "Shoots", adjustments to the "Zeus" taser weapon, and the "Kilowatt Case", a weapon case containing 17 community-created weapon skins.

In April 2024, left-handed weapon "view model" settings were added to Counter-Strike 2, following their absence from the game's release, and Dust II was added to the map pool of the Premier game mode, replacing Overpass. In May 2024, a rental system for the Kilowatt Case was added, allowing players who have obtained a key for the case to rent all weapon skins within it for one week, along with adjustments to the duration and flame spread of the Counter-Terrorists' incendiary grenades. In June 2024, five community-created maps—"Thera", "Mills", "Memento", "Assembly", and "Pool Day"—were added to Counter-Strike 2.

Critical reception
According to review aggregator Metacritic, Counter-Strike 2 received "generally favorable reviews" from critics, based on 16 critic reviews. On review aggregator OpenCritic, the game has received an average score of 80, with 88% of critics recommending it overall.

Jake Tucker of TechRadar gave Counter-Strike 2 a 4 out of 5 star rating; Tucker praised the game's "clean" gunplay and "silken" movement, but criticized its hostility to new players and lack of accessibility features. Eurogamer's Will Judd also gave the game a 4 out of 5 star rating, commending its moment-to-moment gunplay and overhauled maps, but critiquing its stability and lack of alternative game modes that deviate from its focus on competitive play. Chris Shive of Hardcore Gamer stated that Counter-Strike 2 is a "mostly positive update to Global Offensive", and gave it a 4/5 rating.

Polygon's Charlie Theel called Counter-Strike 2 "a significant move forward for the franchise", praising the game's changes to weapon handling, visuals, sound design and art direction. Ed Thorn, reviews editor for Rock Paper Shotgun, stated that Counter-Strike 2 "captures what makes Counter-Strike tick", though he noted that the game's foundation seemed "a little sparse and a touch shaky" upon its initial release but felt confident that Valve "have an FPS that'll supersede Global Offensive in time." PC Gamer's Rich Stanton commented that his transition to Counter-Strike 2 from Global Offensive felt like playing a "director's cut" version of something he'd already played before, rather than a new experience.

Player reception
Initial responses from players were critical of the removal of several game modes that were present in Global Offensive, such as Arms Race and Danger Zone, the discontinuation of support for the macOS operating system, which was previously supported by Global Offensive, and the removal of all in-game achievements. Due to the removed content, the game received thousands of negative reviews on Steam, most of which were hidden by the 7.5 million reviews previously made for Global Offensive, the majority of which were positive. Graham Smith of Rock Paper Shotgun commented that Counter-Strike 2 should not have been able to use reviews from Global Offensive to prop itself up as the two were different games, and that if user reviews only included those for Counter-Strike 2, the store page would show a mixed feedback from players equivalent to 59%.

In October 2023, PCGamesN and Den of Geek reported that Counter-Strike 2 had become the lowest-rated Valve release on Steam, with the game's performance and removed content being considered primary criticisms from players.

Revenue
According to reports from Eurogamer and Dot Esports, Counter-Strike 2 generated an estimated US$1 billion in revenue through the sale of loot boxes by the end of 2023, with a total of over 400 million loot boxes being opened throughout the entirety of that year.