Counter-Strike 2 Beta was released today as a complete overhaul on Counter-Strike Global Offensive for a limited test. Valve, the developers have stated in a tweet that Counter-Strike 2 will officially be released in the summer of this year. 

Today we’re excited to announce Counter-Strike 2. Counter-Strike 2 is an overhaul to every system, every piece of content, and every part of the C-S experience. First, let’s talk about smoke grenades: pic.twitter.com/iTtguRHJ0S

— CS2 (@CounterStrike) March 22, 2023

The most prominent change from CSGO is the smoke changes. According to the Counter-Strike 2 website, “Smoke now has the ability to interact with other gameplay events, creating new opportunities. Bullets and HE grenades can push smoke to briefly clear sightlines or expand occlusion.” Smokes will also now fill up doorways naturally and will be able to combine with other smokes. Another addition to smoke is that it will now react with lighting allowing for “more realistic light and color.”

One of the changes is tick rate, “Tick rate no longer matters for moving, shooting, or throwing.  Previously, the server only evaluated the world in discrete time intervals (called ticks). Thanks to Counter-Strike 2’s sub-tick update architecture, servers know the exact instant that motion starts, a shot is fired, or a ‘nade is thrown. As a result, regardless of tick rate, your moving and shooting will be equally responsive and your grenades will always land the same way.”

Valve has also changed the lighting on maps, moving to Source 2, a “physically based rendering system that produces realistic materials, lighting, and reflections.” Only the Dust II map is playable in the current state of the Counter-Strike 2 Beta. The developers have also confirmed that there will be more visual changes when CS 2 comes, “the most critical gameplay visuals have been redesigned with readability in mind. Bullet impacts can be easily viewed at a distance, and directional blood impacts (that fade over time) give you more information as you move through the world.” They will also be changing explosions, fire, C4, visual effects, and lighting.