• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Counter-Strike 2 Officially Announced by Valve for Summer 2023 Launch, Limited Test Incoming Today

T0@st

News Editor
Joined
Mar 7, 2023
Messages
2,077 (3.34/day)
Location
South East, UK
THE NEXT ERA OF COUNTER-STRIKE BEGINS THIS SUMMER

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! Read on to learn more about some of the features of the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test.



CLEANER, BRIGHTER, BETTER

Maps in Counter-Strike 2 are receiving upgrades and overhauls which leverage all of the new Source 2 tools and rendering features. From upgrades to overhauls, maps are cleaner, brighter, better. The overhauled maps have been fully rebuilt from the ground up, leveraging all of the new Source 2 tools and rendering features.


GAME CHANGER

Smoke Grenades are now dynamic volumetric objects that interact with the environment, and react to lighting, gunfire, and explosions.

Smoke now has the ability to interact with other gameplay events, creating new opportunities. Bullets and HE grenades can push smoke to briefly clear sightlines or expand occlusion. Now the smoke will seep out of opened doorways and broken windows, go down and up stairs, as well as expand in long corridors and combine with other smokes. In Counter-Strike 2 smoke particles work with the unified lighting system allowing for more realistic light and color.


WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET

Tick rate no longer matters for moving, shooting, or throwing.
Sub-tick updates are the heart of Counter-Strike 2. Previously, the server only evaluated the world in discrete time intervals (called ticks). Thanks to Counter-Strike 2's sub-tick update architecture, servers know the exact instant that motion starts, a shot is fired, or a 'nade is thrown.

As a result, regardless of tick rate, your moving and shooting will be equally responsive and your grenades will always land the same way.


HI-DEF VFX

From UI to gameplay, all visual effects have been reimagined.
All of the visual effects have been updated in Counter-Strike 2. With Source 2 lighting and particle systems, there's an all-new look and behavior for water, explosions, fire, smoke, muzzle flashes, bullet tracers, impact effects, and more.

In Counter-Strike 2 the most critical gameplay visuals have been redesigned with readability in mind. Bullet impacts can be easily viewed at a distance, and directional blood impacts (that fade over time) give you more information as you move through the world. Experience completely reauthored explosions, fire, C4 lighting, and more. Leveraging the Source 2 Engine and modern hardware, environmental effects in Counter-Strike 2 feature improved visual fidelity and greater consistency.

The UI in Counter-Strike 2 has gotten a complete overhaul, including fresh visual effects throughout the HUD. Not only do these improvements look nice, they also communicate important game state.

ACCURATE AUDIO

Reworked, Rebalanced, Reverbed - Counter-Strike 2 sounds have been reworked to better reflect the physical environment, be more distinct, and express more game state. They have also been rebalanced for a more comfortable listening experience.

SOURCE 2 TOOLS

The Source 2 tools and rendering features will be available for community map makers to make it easier to build, experiment and iterate. And stay tuned for the Source 2 Item Workshop, which will be available later on in the limited test.

THERE'S MORE TO COME

The Limited Test only evaluates a subset of Counter-Strike 2's features, so that major issues can be resolved before the summer. But there's much more to come. In just a few months we'll reveal all of the details of Counter-Strike 2, and we can't wait to share it with you.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source
 
Joined
Mar 2, 2022
Messages
146 (0.15/day)
Processor Intel Core i9-13900KS
Motherboard ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-H Gaming DDR5 ATX Motherboard
Cooling ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360mm
Memory Team Group Delta RGB DDR5 32GB 7800
Video Card(s) MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 GAMING TRIO 24GB
Display(s) LG CX 55" OLED 120Hz
Case Corsair 5000D Airflow Tempered Glass Mid-Tower ATX
Mouse Xtrfy M4 Retro
Keyboard Logitech G810 w/ Romer-G Tactile Switches
VR HMD Valve Index
Software Win 11
Nice, Source 2. Would be cool to see other devs working in that engine. Apex was a huge game and that was in Source 1.
 
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
5,545 (0.96/day)
System Name Cyberline
Processor Intel Core i7 2600k -> 12600k
Motherboard Asus P8P67 LE Rev 3.0 -> Gigabyte Z690 Auros Elite DDR4
Cooling Tuniq Tower 120 -> Custom Watercoolingloop
Memory Corsair (4x2) 8gb 1600mhz -> Crucial (8x2) 16gb 3600mhz
Video Card(s) AMD RX480 -> RX7800XT
Storage Samsung 750 Evo 250gb SSD + WD 1tb x 2 + WD 2tb -> 2tb MVMe SSD
Display(s) Philips 32inch LPF5605H (television) -> Dell S3220DGF
Case antec 600 -> Thermaltake Tenor HTCP case
Audio Device(s) Focusrite 2i4 (USB)
Power Supply Seasonic 620watt 80+ Platinum
Mouse Elecom EX-G
Keyboard Rapoo V700
Software Windows 10 Pro 64bit
honestly cool stuff and dont you just love how they keep they "Valve cant count to 3" meme alive?
 
Joined
Jul 20, 2022
Messages
76 (0.09/day)
To bad CS isn't a game for me. I love competitive play and from a technical perspective it sounds seriously impressive.
 

ir_cow

Staff member
Joined
Sep 4, 2008
Messages
4,441 (0.75/day)
Location
USA
So Valve finally ran out of money and want to milk the next generation of kids.
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2015
Messages
1,068 (0.32/day)
Location
Latvija
System Name Fujitsu Siemens, HP Workstation
Processor Athlon x2 5000+ 3.1GHz, i5 2400
Motherboard Asus
Memory 4GB Samsung
Video Card(s) rx 460 4gb
Storage 750 Evo 250 +2tb
Display(s) Asus 1680x1050 4K HDR
Audio Device(s) Pioneer
Power Supply 430W
Mouse Acme
Keyboard Trust
Not interested in games more than 10, 5 GB size.
 
Joined
Feb 8, 2022
Messages
269 (0.27/day)
Location
Georgia, United States
System Name LMDESKTOPv2
Processor Intel i9 10850K
Motherboard ASRock Z590 PG Velocita
Cooling Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240 w/ Maintenance Kit
Memory Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3600 CL18 2x16
Video Card(s) RTX 3080 Ti FE
Storage Intel Optane 900p 280GB, 1TB WD Blue SSD, 2TB Team Vulkan SSD, 2TB Seagate HDD, 4TB Team MP34 SSD
Display(s) HP Omen 27q, HP 25er
Case Fractal Design Meshify C Steel Panel
Audio Device(s) Sennheiser GSX 1000, Schiit Magni Heresy, Sennheiser HD560S
Power Supply Corsair HX850 V2
Mouse Logitech MX518 Legendary Edition
Keyboard Logitech G413 Carbon
VR HMD Oculus Quest 2 (w/ BOBO VR battery strap)
Software Win 10 Professional
Enjoy it, this will be the last CS game, as Valve doesn't know how to count to three
After it will be CS 2.6 or Condition One.
 
Joined
Jun 25, 2008
Messages
2,441 (0.41/day)
System Name Dell Workstation t5810
Processor Xeon CPU's E5-2683 v4 Broadwell-E Technology
Motherboard Broadwell-E X99
Cooling Default fan System Level 3
Memory 48GB DDR4
Video Card(s) Radeon Pro VII 16GB
Storage 2 Internal SSD, 6 External HDD
Display(s) Dell 27 Inch Monitor
Case Dell Precision 5810
Audio Device(s) RealTek High Definition
Power Supply 825 Watts PSU
Mouse Soundless Black Quiet Mouse
Keyboard Dell Black
Software Windows Pro 10 x64
So the game will support DX12/Vulkan , 10x times better graphics?
That's all i care about is better visuals.
 
Joined
Feb 8, 2022
Messages
269 (0.27/day)
Location
Georgia, United States
System Name LMDESKTOPv2
Processor Intel i9 10850K
Motherboard ASRock Z590 PG Velocita
Cooling Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240 w/ Maintenance Kit
Memory Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3600 CL18 2x16
Video Card(s) RTX 3080 Ti FE
Storage Intel Optane 900p 280GB, 1TB WD Blue SSD, 2TB Team Vulkan SSD, 2TB Seagate HDD, 4TB Team MP34 SSD
Display(s) HP Omen 27q, HP 25er
Case Fractal Design Meshify C Steel Panel
Audio Device(s) Sennheiser GSX 1000, Schiit Magni Heresy, Sennheiser HD560S
Power Supply Corsair HX850 V2
Mouse Logitech MX518 Legendary Edition
Keyboard Logitech G413 Carbon
VR HMD Oculus Quest 2 (w/ BOBO VR battery strap)
Software Win 10 Professional
So the game will support DX12/Vulkan , 10x times better graphics?
That's all i care about is better visuals.
You are in the minority. This is Counter Strike not Cyberpunk.
 
Joined
Feb 17, 2017
Messages
854 (0.30/day)
Location
Italy
Processor i7 2600K
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/Gen 3
Cooling ZeroTherm FZ120
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws 4x4GB DDR3
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1060 6G Gaming X
Storage Samsung 830 Pro 256GB + WD Caviar Blue 1TB
Display(s) Samsung PX2370 + Acer AL1717
Case Antec 1200 v1
Audio Device(s) aune x1s
Power Supply Enermax Modu87+ 800W
Mouse Logitech G403
Keyboard Qpad MK80
So the game will support DX12/Vulkan , 10x times better graphics?
That's all i care about is better visuals.
Makes no sense on a game like CS, but whatever. Anyway as much as i started hating Valve, this i'm pretty excited about - surely going to play it, i'm also quite sure it'll be f2p, that really doesn't make stuff better.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jun 13, 2019
Messages
542 (0.27/day)
System Name Fractal
Processor Intel Core i5 13600K
Motherboard Asus ProArt Z790 Creator WiFi
Cooling Arctic Cooling Liquid Freezer II 360
Memory 16GBx2 G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 DDR5 6000 CL30-40-40-96 (F5-6000J3040F16GX2-RS5K)
Video Card(s) PNY RTX A2000 6GB
Storage SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB
Display(s) LG 34GK950F-B (34"/IPS/1440p/21:9/144Hz/FreeSync)
Case Fractal Design R6 Gunmetal Blackout w/ USB-C
Audio Device(s) Steelseries Arctis 7 Wireless/Klipsch Pro-Media 2.1BT
Power Supply Seasonic Prime 850w 80+ Titanium
Mouse Logitech G700S
Keyboard Corsair K68
Software Windows 11 Pro
So Valve finally ran out of money and want to milk the next generation of kids.

I was just thinking - "Fortnite is going to finally die off."
 
Joined
Sep 27, 2008
Messages
1,195 (0.20/day)
I wonder how much of a boost to PC sales this will drive? I'm thinking a sizable amount of people will need fresher potatoes to run it, if this is the minimum spec for CS2.

[Quad core Sandy Bridge + 8GB RAM + GTX660/HD7850] is quite a jump from [Conroe + 2GB RAM + "any 256mb DX9-capable graphics card"]
 
Joined
Jul 10, 2022
Messages
334 (0.39/day)
Location
France
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
Motherboard MSI MPG B550I GAMING EDGE WIFI Mini ITX
Cooling Noctua NH-U12S Chromax Black
Memory Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) 3600MHz CL18
Video Card(s) AMD RX 6750XT Reference Design
Storage 2.5 TB 2.5" SSD / 3 TB HDD
Display(s) ASUS 27" 165HZ VG27WQ / Vertical 16/10 iiyama 25" 75Hz ProLite XUB2595WSU-B1
Case be quiet! Dark Base 700 RGB
Audio Device(s) PSB Alpha P3 / LOXJIE A30 Amp
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GA
Mouse Cooler master MM720
Keyboard Roccat horde
VR HMD Oculus Rift S (please Valve, release a new headset)
Software Windows 10
I wonder how much of a boost to PC sales this will drive? I'm thinking a sizable amount of people will need fresher potatoes to run it, if this is the minimum spec for CS2.

[Quad core Sandy Bridge + 8GB RAM + GTX660/HD7850] is quite a jump from [Conroe + 2GB RAM + "any 256mb DX9-capable graphics card"]
If you really have the barely minimum yeah but all those new requirement are components older than 10 years old. When CSGO came out, the minimum configuration required was less than 10 years old.
 
Joined
Sep 27, 2008
Messages
1,195 (0.20/day)
If you really have the barely minimum yeah but all those new requirement are components older than 10 years old. When CSGO came out, the minimum configuration required was less than 10 years old.

The thing is though, most people would want more than the minimum to have a more consistently decent playing experience. A person who's sitting on something close to the minimum, like a GTX 750Ti (pretty sizable amount according to Steam survey, 0.62%), or someone who's been chugging along with a Vega iGPU might be prompted to get something better.
 
Joined
Mar 2, 2022
Messages
146 (0.15/day)
Processor Intel Core i9-13900KS
Motherboard ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-H Gaming DDR5 ATX Motherboard
Cooling ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360mm
Memory Team Group Delta RGB DDR5 32GB 7800
Video Card(s) MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 GAMING TRIO 24GB
Display(s) LG CX 55" OLED 120Hz
Case Corsair 5000D Airflow Tempered Glass Mid-Tower ATX
Mouse Xtrfy M4 Retro
Keyboard Logitech G810 w/ Romer-G Tactile Switches
VR HMD Valve Index
Software Win 11
The thing is though, most people would want more than the minimum to have a more consistently decent playing experience. A person who's sitting on something close to the minimum, like a GTX 750Ti (pretty sizable amount according to Steam survey, 0.62%), or someone who's been chugging along with a Vega iGPU might be prompted to get something better.
It'll run on their $365 steam deck so I wouldn't worry about low end specs too much. If your desktop is slower than a steam deck then I implore you please care for your PC.
 
Joined
Jul 10, 2022
Messages
334 (0.39/day)
Location
France
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
Motherboard MSI MPG B550I GAMING EDGE WIFI Mini ITX
Cooling Noctua NH-U12S Chromax Black
Memory Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) 3600MHz CL18
Video Card(s) AMD RX 6750XT Reference Design
Storage 2.5 TB 2.5" SSD / 3 TB HDD
Display(s) ASUS 27" 165HZ VG27WQ / Vertical 16/10 iiyama 25" 75Hz ProLite XUB2595WSU-B1
Case be quiet! Dark Base 700 RGB
Audio Device(s) PSB Alpha P3 / LOXJIE A30 Amp
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GA
Mouse Cooler master MM720
Keyboard Roccat horde
VR HMD Oculus Rift S (please Valve, release a new headset)
Software Windows 10
It'll run on their $365 steam deck so I wouldn't worry about low end specs too much. If your desktop is slower than a steam deck then I implore you please care for your PC.
Theirs a lot of poor country that like to play video games too and they take care of 10+ years old hardware that we first used better than we could ever bother too
 
Joined
Mar 2, 2022
Messages
146 (0.15/day)
Processor Intel Core i9-13900KS
Motherboard ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-H Gaming DDR5 ATX Motherboard
Cooling ASUS ROG Ryujin II 360mm
Memory Team Group Delta RGB DDR5 32GB 7800
Video Card(s) MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 GAMING TRIO 24GB
Display(s) LG CX 55" OLED 120Hz
Case Corsair 5000D Airflow Tempered Glass Mid-Tower ATX
Mouse Xtrfy M4 Retro
Keyboard Logitech G810 w/ Romer-G Tactile Switches
VR HMD Valve Index
Software Win 11
Theirs a lot of poor country that like to play video games too and they take care of 10+ years old hardware that we first used better than we could ever bother too
That's true. No disrespect there.
 
Joined
Mar 11, 2008
Messages
924 (0.15/day)
Location
Hungary / Budapest
System Name Kincsem
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
Motherboard ASUS ProArt X870E-CREATOR WIFI
Cooling Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 5
Memory Kingston Fury KF560C32RSK2-96 (2×48GB 6GHz)
Video Card(s) Sapphire AMD RX 7900 XT Pulse
Storage Samsung 970PRO 500GB + Samsung 980PRO 2TB + FURY Renegade 2TB+ Adata 2TB + WD Ultrastar HC550 16TB
Display(s) Acer QHD 27"@144Hz 1ms + UHD 27"@60Hz
Case Cooler Master CM 690 III
Power Supply Seasonic 1300W 80+ Gold Prime
Mouse Logitech G502 Hero
Keyboard HyperX Alloy Elite RGB
Software Windows 10-64
Benchmark Scores https://valid.x86.fr/ilvewh https://valid.x86.fr/4d8n02 X570 https://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/g46uc
I am only interested in anti cheat and anti toxic updates regarding modern CS.
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2011
Messages
6,711 (1.39/day)
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-13700K
Motherboard Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX
Cooling Noctua NH-D15
Memory 32GB(2x16) DDR5@6600MHz G-Skill Trident Z5
Video Card(s) ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 3080 AMP Holo
Storage 2TB SK Platinum P41 SSD + 4TB SanDisk Ultra SSD + 500GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD
Display(s) Acer Predator X34 3440x1440@100Hz G-Sync
Case NZXT PHANTOM410-BK
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Titanium PCIe
Power Supply Corsair 850W
Mouse Logitech Hero G502 SE
Software Windows 11 Pro - 64bit
Benchmark Scores 30FPS in NFS:Rivals
Sorry, but on what I've saw, the graphics seems to be a big downgrade over CS:GO. The maps now are overbrighted, shadows are gone, all maps look like all the lights are turned on!!! WTH is going on Valve? Did you forgot your shaders and shadow maps???
 
Top