After a lengthy amount of anticipation and speculation from fans, the long awaited Counter-Strike 2 is finally here. Counter-Strike became a household name within the video game community thanks to the success of the franchises’ fourth installment Counter Strike Global Offensive (CSGO) in 2012. Since then, fans have been clamoring for another title.
A representative of CSGOluck shared their excitement on the game’s release in a statement, explaining their hope to “entice top talent from other FPs games” thanks to the game being free.
“It will be very exciting to see how the latest Counter-Strike in the franchise’s legendary 24-year existence will impact the competitive scene,” the statement read. “The game being free may entice top talent from other FPS shooters to try the game, boosting the Counter-Strike esports talent pool.”
“The player base will surely see an uptick with no fees needed to play either, which may increase viewership in Counter-Strike esports events. This may result in more lucrative sponsor deals and larger prize pots.”
Unlike its previous installments, Counter-Strike 2 is free to play and offers the option to purchase a Prime Status Upgrade that promises to match players with other Prime Status players. Additionally, Prime Status players are eligible to receive various unique and exclusive souvenirs, item drops, and weapon cases and more.
CSGO gambling site CSGOluck found that searches for Counter-Strike 2 exploded by 769% on Google Trends following Valve’s announcement on X, that the game is available on Steam, as of 27 September 2023.
Since its release, fans flooded Steam has with overwhelmingly positive reviews of the game. According to CSGOluck, 85.5% of those reviews were positive while 14.5% were negative.
It’s the start of a new era for Counter-Strike fans and many couldn’t be more happier. However, to others, the launch seemed very bittersweet, mainly due in part to Counter-Strike 2 completely replacing CSGO on the Steam digital storefront.
Currently, Counter-Strike 2 is available on PC via Steam, for more information and future updates head over to the game’s official website and social media.