CS:GO recently celebrated its 11th anniversary ahead of the release of its successor, Counter-Strike 2. Last week, Valve teased Counter-Strike 2 would be released worldwide on Wednesday, and this teaser has not disappointed.
Following several months of beta testing, the game has now been made available on Steam, opening the doors to millions of new and returning CS:GO players.
Why it matters: CS:GO has been dominating the competitive first-person-shooter genre on PC for more than a decade, and it appears that the latest iteration of Counter-Strike will take the lead from here.
Valve has celebrated the release through a launch trailer.
Like its predecessor, Counter-Strike 2 is a free-to-play release, bringing a new version of the series on the Source 2 engine. The game shakes the core of the Counter-Strike formula, introducing changes like volumetric smokes, UI improvements, and more.
Since Counter-Strike 2 is an upgrade over CS:GO, the game has effectively replaced Valve’s last iteration of the franchise. While items from the inventory will carry over to the next game, some may find it disappointing that CS:GO is gone forever.
Counter-Strike 2 has very big shoes to fill, as CS:GO has been unstoppable in recent months. It has reached over 1 million concurrent players every month for over a year since last August.
Unsurprisingly, its successor is already off to a great start. Being a highly anticipated free-to-play release, the first-person shooter has already reached over 1.2 million players in the last 24 hours.
Those looking to enjoy Counter-Strike 2 can get started by downloading the game from Steam. PC users with CS:GO can go ahead and download a 27GB update to join the exciting new release.
After 11 exciting years, Valve has finally moved on from CS:GO.
The release of Counter-Strike 2 marks a new era for the popular franchise, introducing the IP to a new generation of players, leading to a new wave of talented competitive players, content creators, and more, continuing the strong legacy of this nearly 23-year-old franchise.
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[News Reporter]
Abiyan is on track to complete his Computer Science bachelor’s degree. His enthusiasm for writing and gaming motivates him to keep readers and gamers updated with the latest information from the industry. In his free time, Abiyan enjoys playing Dota 2 and Rocket League. Abiyan has also been cited in reputed websites such as Kitguru, Comicbook, GamingBible, Eurogamer and Gamingbolt.
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