When Counter-Strike 2 came out, it fully replaced Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and introduced a wave of new improvements and changes. While not all the changes have been widely approved by the game’s huge playerbase, CS2 remains the most popular game played on Steam, with no signs of slowing down soon.
But when did Counter-Strike 2 come out, and how is it doing today?
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When Was Counter-Strike 2 Released?
Counter-Strike 2 officially came out on September 27, 2023, though the game was playable for some users earlier than that. It went through a lengthy beta phase before hitting the open market on Steam in late September.
CS2 was originally announced back on March 22, 2023, via a series of posts from Valve highlighting some of the new changes. These changes included the new volumetric and reactive smokes, sub-tick servers, and overhauled or visually updated maps. The game itself also came over to the Source 2 engine.
Fresh off the new game announcement, Valve opened a limited test period that would offer select players a chance to try out CS2. Less than two months later, in May, Counter-Strike would hit its all-time player peak at 1.8 million players. This can be attributed to the rise in players trying to get CS2 limited test access as well as the release of the Major pass for the final CS:GO Major, BLAST Paris.
Finally, on September 27, 2023, CS:GO was officially taken over by Counter-Strike 2. Response to the release was mixed, as gameplay modes like Arms Race and Danger Zone didn’t come over to CS2. Arms Race eventually was released in CS2 in the next year. Valve continues to roll out new updates addressing bugs and major issues while introducing new content.
How do you feel about CS2 since it came out? Let us know in the Insider Gaming forum.
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