After more than a decade of existence, it seems that Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) will see a major change in the next few weeks. The proof with new leaks in a DOTA 2 update.
In a recent article, Richard Lewis, eminent figure in the esports scene and Counter Strike journalist, spread rumors about the imminent arrival of a very big novelty from the side of Valve. This novelty would be called Counter Strike 2 and would be a new version of the current Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). Dataminers have looked at recent Nvidia and Dota 2 driver updates, and found various clues confirming their assumptions. Latest, a patch for Valve’s famous MOBA, including various code lines related to the Source 2 graphics engine and CS:GO.
Since its release more than a decade ago, CS:GO has always been the product of wild rumors about the arrival of graphical updates, or even a possible sequel. So many rumors that have all without exception been invalidated by Valve’s complete silence about its legendary FPS. But today things have changed. The studio would be in full development of a new version of CS:GO. We explain it to you just below.
According to Richard Lewis, several sources have confirmed that a new version of CS: GO based on the Source 2 graphics engine could see the light of day in a few weeks. Rumors that corroborate the confirmed appearance of files titled “csgo2.exe” in the latest Nvidia graphics drivers, much more than a happy coincidence for the British journalist. This new version of the game, which could be called Counter Strike 2 according to Lewis, would include new graphics as well as 128-tick servers, a feature requested by FPS players for several years.
Add to that the discovery of lines of code related to CS:GO and the Source 2 graphics engine in a recent Dota 2 update, and you’ve got plenty to raise suspicions among gamers and fans alike. Indeed, various dataminers have spotted references to the Zoo map, lootboxes and spray kits in the code of the latest Dota 2 update. Obviously, everything points to the arrival of the Source 2 graphics engine in CS:GO, a change that will involve better graphics, different in-game physics but also lower performance on the most modest configurations.
Still according to Richard Lewis, the Valve teams have been working on this new version of the game for a while, and its arrival on Steam would be much more imminent than it seems. Indeed, some sources would have confirmed that a beta of this new Counter Strike would be available in March 2023 for players, with a view to an official release of the game in April. Unfortunately, silence remains king on Valve’s side, so it’s necessary to take these rumors with a little grain of salt.
For the moment, information about Counter Strike 2 remains only in the realm of guesswork, although Richard Lewis is an extremely reliable journalist close to the CS:GO scene. Still according to its sources, a beta of this new version of the game could see the light of day at the end of March. It remains to be seen whether this testing period will be open to all players or to a single handful of finely selected testers.