Oliver Haslam on March 22, 2023, 7:56 pm

Counter-Strike 2 Is Coming And It’s Free

Valve has announced Counter-Strike 2, the replacement for CS:GO that also happens to be free to play. And some people can play it today.

Those people can look forward to what Valve is calling an “overhaul to every system, every piece of content, and every part of the CS experience.”

That definitely sounds promising, with The Verge pointing to a quote on the game’s website that says it’s “the largest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike’s history.”

While the full game is set to become available in the summer of 2023, Valve is opening things up to some people today. You’ll need to be invited, with Valve saying that it will choose players based on a number of criteria that include “recent playtime on Valve official servers, trust factor, and Steam account standing.”

Those who do get selected will see an invitation in the main CS:GO menu and that’s when the shooting starts.

Right now the demo is only available on Windows, so there’s no playing on macOS or Linux. There’s also absolutely no mention of Valve’s own Stream Deck, so who knows there.

As for the game, players can expect some big improvements not just to visuals but to gameplay. Fans of snappy response can look forward to what Valve calls “sub-tick updates,” ensuring that “servers know the exact instant that motion starts, a shot is fired, or a ‘nade is thrown.”