Counter-Strike: Global Offensive: Successor allegedly in the works – or just an engine upgrade?

2023 is also enjoying itself Counter Strike: Global Offensive enormous popularity – but is there a sequel coming soon? The rumor mill is currently revolving around the imminent unveiling of Counter Strike 2.

The focus is on a report by English-speaking esports journalist and analyst Richard Lewis, who claims that Counter-Strike 2 is set to be announced very soon. However, it is apparently not a classic successor, as one might assume from the name. Nevertheless, there should be a few major innovations on board.

Counter-Strike 2 Confusion: New Game or Just Engine Upgrade?

The rumors about a successor to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive began with a driver update from Nvidia: There, the user writes on Twitter aquaismissing, suddenly there was a settings profile for Counter-Strike 2 including the reference to “cs2.exe” and “csgos2.exe”. What this is all about could only be speculated.

Shortly thereafter, Richard Lewis followed suit: The e-sports journalist writes in one blog entrythat Counter-Strike 2 is real. According to its sources, Valve has been working on a new version of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for a long time, which should even start beta this month. The biggest innovation is that the shooter switches to the Source Engine 2, which is already in dota 2 and Half Life: Alyx is used.

It won’t be new game, it won’t be Counter-Strike 2, it won’t be even a rebrand, just CS:GO Source 2

And your skins are fine, they will be available in new version.

— ‎Gabe Follower 2 (@gabefollower) March 5, 2023

According to Lewis, the version will actually appear as Counter-Strike 2. The usually well-informed Twitter user Gabe Follower, however, reports that it is not a new game and will not be renamed. It is “only” the change to the Source Engine 2 and all skins will still be available.

What innovations are being discussed?

Whether Counter-Strike 2 or not, the engine change should still leave its mark. Among other things, Richard Lewis says that with the update, the official servers will henceforth offer 128 Hertz, similar to the direct competitor Valorant by Riot Games. In addition, there should be an improved match-making system in which fans should no longer be dependent on third-party software.

For further details, the only thing left to do is wait for the official announcement, provided that the current rumors are true. But if a beta is actually imminent in these weeks, a message from Valve can be expected soon. According to other rumors, the developer are also working on a new brand, Neon Prime, which is said to have similarities to DOTA.