- Reports indicate that Valve is working on a new Counter-Strike game to act as a sequel to CS:GO.
- Valve has also filed for a trademark for a CS:GO-related property and the latest NVIDIA drivers seem to also indicate a new Counter-Strike is on the way.
- This would be the first major Valve title since Half-Life: Alyx, released in 2020.
For so long it seemed that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) was an island. Launched in late 2012, it has long been one of the most popular multiplayer shooters in the world and has amassed both significant commercial success and a cult-like following of passionate fans.
Apart from millions of concurrent players worldwide, its esports leagues are some of the largest on earth. The ESL Pro League for CS:GO, currently in season 17, has a prize pool of $850 000. There is even an Africa-wide tournament where the best CS:GO players across the continent vied for $30 000 in 2022.
The thought of a new Counter-Strike is so alien that it has been featured as a joke among online communities for years. And yet, a new report from esports journalist Richard Lewis, picked up by Forbes, indicates that Valve is not only busy making a new Counter-Strike game, but it’s almost done with it.
According to Lewis citing sources working on the game’s development, the beta for the new Counter-Strike title could be revealed as soon as late March/ early April. Other details of the upcoming title are that it will run on the Source 2 engine, the same engine as Half-Life: Alyx, have a 128 tick rate for faster online play, and feature improved matchmaking.
If Lewis’ report holds true, this would be the largest Valve release since Half-Life: Alyx in 2020 and have the widest reach since Dota 2 in 2013.
If this report seems too flimsy, last week Valve submitted a trademark application for something called “CS2” with related trademarks “Counter-Strike” and “CS:GO” which means that it is a property or IP linked to the shooter brand.
Another piece of evidence that looks to show credence to the report comes from The Verge, which highlights Twitter posts from Valve leaker @gabefollower, who noticed the new executables “csgo2.exe” and “cs2.exe” in new game profiles included in the latest NVIDIA Drivers.
The Verge points out that this may just mean that Valve is looking to port CS:GO to the Source 2 engine, which is a possibility. One point of concern for CS:GO fans if Valve does indeed launch a new Counter-Strike game is what would happen to the 10 years’ worth of weapons, cosmetic items and skins collected by players.
Do they get ported to the new title, or do players start from scratch again?
Whatever the case is, fans of the series should be on the lookout for something related to CS:GO to be released by the Steam owner soon. It is also good news for fans of other Valve titles, as a quiet Valve means we will have to wait longer for Half-Life 3.
[Image – Valve]
