Counter-Strike 2 Is Legit, Coming "Just Round The Corner" - Report

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most popular games on Steam, but that hasn't stopped rumors that the game will soon get a massive update that will transform it overnight. According to a new report from journalist Richard Lewis, sources have confirmed that a hypothetical "Counter-Strike 2" is indeed real, and the planned release date for the beta is March or early April.

The report suggests that this new game will be on the Source 2 engine, rather than the aging original Source engine that powers Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It will feature an improved match-making system and 128-tick servers, intended to compete with its major rival in the competitive shooter space, Valorant.

It's unclear if the two versions of Counter-Strike will coexist, or if Valve plans to pull an Overwatch and replace the original Global Offensive entirely. It's also likely that the move to Source 2 will require higher minimum specs to run well.

The name "Counter-Strike 2" would be an interesting long-term choice for the series, given that this version would be at least the fourth new named version of Counter-Strike since its days as a mod. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is usually the most-played game on Steam, with an all-time peak of 1.3 million players.