Counter Strike 2 Officially Confirmed to Release in Summer 2023

Valve has confirmed that the much-awaited Source 2 update for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is shipping in Summer 2023. Titled simply “Counter-Strike 2,” the new game is advertised to ship with higher tick rate servers, responsive smoke mechanics, all-new polished maps, improved graphics, and accurate audio amongst other updates.

The company also confirmed that players’ entire inventory from CS:GO will be transferred to Counter-Strike 2.

Counter-Strike 2 Will Have a Limited Release Initially

Valve released a blog detailing its plans for the upcoming release of Counter-Strike 2. Valve promises that this would be the largest technical leap forward in the history of the game and expects the new features to keep players engaged for years. 

While all of the game's new features will be revealed when it officially launches this summer, Valve is currently offering a Limited Test to select CS:GO players. During this testing period, Valve will be evaluating a subset of features to identify and resolve any issues before the worldwide release.

What is the process for getting access to the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test?

To gain access to the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test, players must first be selected by the development team. While the exact criteria for selection are not known, Valve has stated that they are looking for players who are most likely to provide valuable feedback. According to the official FAQs, the selection process takes factors like recent playtime on Valve official servers, trust factor, and Steam account standing into account. 

If you are one of the lucky few to be selected for the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test, you will receive a notification on the main menu of CS:GO. Once you receive an invitation, select "ENROLL" and begin your download. Once the download is complete, launch CS:GO and select the "Limited Test" option to play Counter-Strike 2.

When will Counter-Strike 2 release?

The Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test will only evaluate a subset of the game’s features with the full release expected to come any time in “Summer 2023.” Summer will last from 21 June to 23 September 2023 this year. So the game can be released at any time within this time frame.