Counter-Strike 2 Turns Three — Valve Released the Game on September 27, 2023

Counter-Strike 2 turns three today. On September 27, 2023, Valve wrapped up months of testing and released the new version of Counter-Strike to every player on Steam.

On release day, the company stated plainly that Counter-Strike 2 was available for free, launching the first Premier season and full competitive matchmaking at the same time. Valve also called CS2 the biggest technical leap forward in the series’ history.

CS2 Arrived as a Free Update to CS:GO

Counter-Strike 2 did not launch as a separate, parallel game. Valve released it as a free update to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, keeping the same Steam App ID 730, players’ inventories and most of the CS:GO ecosystem.

The Counter-Strike 2 page on Steam still notes separately that reviews published before September 27, 2023 refer to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

In effect, the main version of CS:GO on Steam was replaced by a new game built on Source 2. That said, the claim that the old version disappeared entirely should be made carefully: Valve later kept CS:GO as a legacy branch, intended in part for watching old demos and accessing some of the previous content.

After the move to CS2, full official CS:GO matchmaking was gone.

The Closed Test Ran for About Six Months

The road to release began on March 22, 2023, when Valve announced Counter-Strike 2 and launched a Limited Test for a limited number of CS:GO players.

At the start, the developers showed off the key features of the move to Source 2:

• dynamic smoke grenades;
• reworked lighting;
• updated maps;
• a new visual system;
• a changed network architecture;
• reworked effects and interface.

Valve gradually expanded the number of Limited Test participants and added new maps and modes. In the end, testing lasted a little over six months, after which CS2 became available to everyone on September 27.

In the release announcement, Valve said simply: “Counter-Strike 2 is here,” inviting veterans to keep playing with their inventories and familiar modes in the new version.

CS2 Has Changed Significantly Over Three Years

After release, Valve continued to gradually develop the game, fixing technical issues and adding features that were missing at launch.

Over three years, Counter-Strike 2 has received numerous changes to maps, matchmaking, animations, sounds, network code and the interface, along with new game modes and major mechanic updates.

The basic model, however, has not changed: CS2 remains a free competitive game and a direct continuation of CS:GO, not a separate entry in the series existing alongside its predecessor.

September 27, 2023 can be considered the official birthday of Counter-Strike 2 — that was the day Valve opened the game to all Steam users and finally moved the main Counter-Strike to Source 2.