After years of speculation, Valve has finally announced Counter-Strike 2, the sequel to 2012’s CS: GO. The anticipation is palpable, as CS is one of the most recognizable first-person shooter series ever, but when will CS2 be released? A possible release date has been revealed.
While Counter-Strike has been around for nearly two decades, CS: GO continues to gain players despite its advanced age. In May, its peak player count was 1.8 million, and as of August 2023, it has approximately 26 million unique players.
Valve is aware that the game is becoming dated, so they have been hard at work on the sequel, Counter-Strike 2, which is built on the more recent Source 2 engine and is now ready for release. The Counter-Strike 2 limited-test beta is now available; read on to find out how to join. Now, at the beginning of September, Valve has released the patch to a far larger number of users.
When will Counter-Strike 2 be Available for Purchase?
On or around September 23, 2023, CS2 will likely debut. A leak has shown that the competitive Premier Mode’s first “season” will kick off on September 23. Until now, all we know for sure is that Counter-Strike 2 will debut in the summer of 2023. In a strict sense, the end of summer is September 30.
Check out the below tweet about CS2:
Today we are introducing CS Rating—a precise display of your skill in Counter-Strike 2. With regional and World Leaderboards you’ll know exactly how you stack up.
Competitive mode in CS2 now features per-map Skill Groups, so players can master their favorite maps while learning… pic.twitter.com/LexHHv8P36
— CS2 (@CounterStrike) August 31, 2023
There was widespread anticipation that Valve will unveil Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 2 on its 11th anniversary, August 21. But alas, the day came and went without any word from Valve, despite widespread speculation. If Valve is serious about getting the new seasons underway on schedule, then CS2 needs to be available to everyone by September 23.
Here are some latest game details we have covered for you:
Did they postpone CS2?
The release of Counter-Strike 2 has not been postponed, as many had speculated. However, in August, a rumour spread on X/Twitter claiming that Valve had pushed back the release until Spring 2024. However, this was all an elaborate hoax concocted by Twitter user Exerpas to mock CS2’s impatient fanbase.
The release of CS2 has not been postponed, as previously stated; the anticipated release date is still Summer 2023. Even while there’s no reason to believe Valve will postpone the release, we can’t completely rule it out.
Regular Updates are Being made to the Counter-Strike 2 Beta
Regular upgrades to the CS2 beta have been released by Valve. Only Dust 2 was available in the initial beta release, but as time went on, Valve introduced a number of other maps, including Mirage on June 6, Overpass on July 17, Ancient and Anubis on August 6, and Inferno on August 31.
Take a look at below tweet:
Welcome to the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test Beta. ⛔️ pic.twitter.com/W68H4xfh25
— CS2 Anti-Cheat Vaccoin 🪙 (@vaccoin) September 4, 2023
Almost every map had issues when it first came out, but the builders patched them quite quickly. Only Cobblestone and Train, two of the original maps, are still absent from fans’ collections. For more updates on games, you can join us on our Twitter account.