Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 is a 2023 multiplayer tactical first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve. It is the fifth main installment of the Counter-Strike series. Developed as an updated version of the previous main entry, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (2012), it was announced on March 22, 2023 and was released on September 27, 2023, 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 gamemodes. Counter-Strike 2 features major technical improvements over Global Offensive, including a move from the Source game engine to Source 2, improved graphics and new server architecture. In addition, many maps from Global Offensive were updated to use the features of Source 2, with some maps receiving complete overhauls.
Upon release, Counter-Strike 2 received generally favorable reviews from critics. In contrast, player reception was mixed; criticism was directed at the delisting of Global Offensive from Steam, degraded game performance, and the removal of several features that had been present in Global Offensive. As a result, Counter-Strike 2 received hundreds of negative user reviews on Steam, leading to it becoming one of the lowest-rated Valve titles on the platform.
Gameplay
Like previous games in the series, Counter-Strike 2 is a multiplayer tactical first-person shooter, where two teams compete to complete different objectives depending on the gamemode selected. Players are split into two teams, the Counter-Terrorists and the Terrorists. Each gamemode has different objectives and is split across several rounds, and in-between rounds the player is able to purchase different weapons and equipment to use. In most gamemodes, the player has one-life-per-round, which will result in them being unable to play until the round is over if they die.
The game has six different gamemodes in which players can compete: Competitive, Premier, Casual, Wingman, Deathmatch, and Hostage. Competitive, the game's primary mode, puts two teams of five (i.e 5v5) 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. Upon completing their objectives, the team will win their round and gain a point. A total of 24 rounds can be played each game, with the first team to reach 13 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 ranking system whereby, in lieu of the previous ranking system, players are given a numerical rating based on their performance, and in addition there are now global/regional leaderboards. The previous ranking system still exists in the Competitive mode, however the ranks are now determined on a per-map basis. Casual is a mode that plays identically to Competitive, but without the ranking systems of Competitive and Premier; the player count is also doubled from 5v5 to 10v10. Wingman puts only two players on each team and features only one bombsite, with the first team to reach nine points winning. Deathmatch puts players into a map with no teams, with the only objective being to gain most kills before the round ends. Hostage puts the one team in control of a group of hostages, which the other team must save from captivity.
Development and release
Counter-Strike 2 was developed with the Source 2 game engine as an update to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and various aspects of Global Offensive were updated to use the features of the engine. It is the first entry in the Counter-Strike series in over ten years. Alongside the engine changes, the game was developed alongside new server architecture, allowing for "sub-tick" gameplay that synchronizes with player input. Additional new mechanics include "smoke physics", a feature where the smoke generated by a smoke grenade can be altered through extra grenades or gunshots.
Many maps from Global Offensive were given upgrades to take advantage of the features of Source 2, including new lighting and enhanced textures. 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, and "Overhauls" for maps reconstructed from the ground up. In addition, all cosmetic items from Global Offensive were transferred to Counter-Strike 2, with some weapon finishes receiving updates to use the updated model and material configurations that were applied to all default weapons.
Following rumors of a Source 2 update for Global Offensive earlier that month, Counter-Strike 2 was officially announced in March 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 as an update for Global Offensive. Throughout the existence of the Limited Test, upgraded maps and new aspects to the game were released over time. 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 accessible via a launch option, and the long-discontinued version for the Xbox 360. Various features from Global Offensive were removed, such as the "Arms Race" and "Danger Zone" gamemodes, and all 167 in-game achievements were removed. Alongside this, only ten maps were included at launch.
Reception
Critical reception
According to review aggregator Metacritic, Counter-Strike 2 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, based on 11 critic reviews.
Player reception
Initial responses from players were critical on the complete removal of Global Offensive from Steam, which resulted in the inability for players to access modes absent from Counter-Strike 2, such as Arms Race and Danger Zone. It also prevented Mac users from playing the game despite Global Offensive supporting the platform. Due to the removed content, the game received hundreds of negative reviews on Steam shortly after release, most of which were hidden by the 2 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%. Shortly afterwards, on October 11, 2023, PCGamesN and Insider Gaming 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.
References
External links
2023 video games
Counter-Strike
Esports games
Free-to-play video games
Linux games
Multiplayer online games
Multiplayer video games
Source 2 games
Tactical shooter video games
Valve Corporation games
Video game sequels
Video games about bomb disposal
Video games about police officers
Video games about the Special Air Service
Video games about terrorism
Video games about the United States Navy SEALs
Video games developed in the United States
Video games scored by Mike Morasky
Video games set in Germany
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Video games set in the Middle East
Video games set in the United States