There is no denying the anticipation building for the release of CS2. Since Valve announced the game, fans of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive have been buzzing with excitement. The initial screens and trailers have hinted that Counter Strike 2 is set to usher us into a new era of next-gen gaming, complete with enhanced graphics, improved physics, and a plethora of other features. Opinions about the title are varied, with some fans expressing concern that CS2 might drastically alter the gameplay. Nonetheless, the collective anticipation for Valve's announcement of the premiere date is palpable. The game's popularity is such that, according to Steam data, the number of CS:GO players has reached an all-time high.

New information about the game is provided every week. However, we have not shared much new data about CS2 since last month. Therefore, we decided to compile the most important news about CS2 that was released over the past few weeks. With this, you'll be up-to-date on all the key details about the upcoming title

News 1: Valve and NVIDIA cooperation. CS2 is going to use NVIDIA Reflex

"NVIDIA has integrated its groundbreaking proprietary technology, NVIDIA Reflex, into Counter-Strike 2. This technology, exclusive to GeForce cards, is designed to minimize system latency, thereby enhancing responsiveness beyond normal levels. This provides an advantage during gameplay under completely fair and legal conditions. NVIDIA asserts that with this feature, users could experience up to 35% less delay in Counter-Strike 2, with the owners of older graphics cards reaping the most benefit. For instance, the GeForce GTX 1060, as per the graph, attains a latency of 17ms with Reflex enabled, compared to 26ms under normal conditions. There are strong indications that GeForce graphics card owners may have a significant edge over users of AMD Radeon series devices. For further understanding of NVIDIA Reflex, we recommend the YouTube video "What is NVIDIA Reflex". The ensuing discussion indicates players' excitement. We are equally eager to see how NVIDIA Reflex operates, particularly in a fast-paced game like Counter Strike 2, given that Reflex was specifically developed for competitive online gaming, as illustrated by the following two opinions:"

“NVIDIA Reflex technology arms developers with new features to minimize latency in their games. We’re seeing excellent responsiveness and player control with Fortnite running on the GeForce RTX 30 Series.” - Nick Penwarden, VP of Engineering, Epic Games.

“Valorant was designed from the beginning to be a precise, competitive FPS, and that means doing everything we can to ensure crisp, responsive gameplay. With GeForce RTX 30 Series and NVIDIA Reflex technology, we're able to serve players around the world with the lowest render latency possible.” - Dave Heironymus, Director of Technology - Valorant / Riot Games. It seems that the potential success of this technology might completely change competitive gaming and bring it to a new era.

Source: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/news/reflex-low-latency-platform/

If this system is going to work properly, then the new era of the competitive gaming is waiting for us.

News 2: The access to CS2 beta is being revoked – is it the sign that the premiere is around the corner?

When Valve announced the release of CS2, players understandably went wild. The major revelation, however, was Valve's decision to grant some Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players access to the limited beta. Over the past few months, numerous players have enjoyed the beta testing of CS2. Yet, Reddit and Twitter are increasingly filled with information about Valve deciding to revoke access to the limited CS2 tests starting from May 2023. Players report encountering an error during matchmaking, prompting them to exit the beta and restart the game. While Valve has not officially announced the end of beta testing, an increasing number of players are losing their access to CS2. The reasons remain unclear, but some players speculate that Valve might be withdrawing beta access in preparation for an imminent game release. We will discover the truth soon.

News 3: A beloved map is coming back in CS2

Santorini, a community map created by FMPFONE for Operation Wildfire, made its debut in 2015. Despite its popularity, it was never included in the Active Duty map pool for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and was subsequently removed from the game in 2016. Many players were drawn to the map due to its vibrant color scheme and unique setting on a Greek Island, which set it apart from other Counter-Strike: Global Offensive maps. We're thrilled to announce that Santorini is set to make a comeback in CS2, according to information shared by FMPONE (the map's creator) via his Twitter account. Fans of this map will soon have the opportunity to experience it anew in CS2. We're eager to see how it performs in the updated version of the game and remain hopeful that it will be included in the Active Duty Pool.

News 4: We finally know Counter-Strike 2 system requirements for Windows, macOS, SteamOS and Linux

Many Counter-Strike: Global Offensive enthusiasts fear that they might not be able to play the forthcoming Counter-Strike 2. Considering that the new game represents the next generation, their concern (quite justifiably) is that their older computers may struggle with the revamped, polished version of CS. Although the official system requirements for Counter-Strike 2 have not yet been announced, the general consensus is that the new iteration of the game will not demand significantly superior hardware compared to the current version. In fact, Valve has stated that the minimum requirements for CS2 will be nearly identical to those of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

These requirements are as following:

• Operating System – Windows 7/8;
• Processor - Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6600 or AMD Phenom™ X3 8750 processor or better;
• Memory -  2 GB RAM;
• Graphics - Video card must be 256 MB or more and should be DirectX 9-compatible with support for Pixel Shader 3.0;
• DirectX – version 9.0c;
• Storage – at least 20 GB of available disk space;

macOS CS2 minimum requirements:

• Operating system - MacOS X 10.11 (El Capitan) or later;
• Processor – Intel Core Duo 2GHz or better;
•     Memory – 2 GB RAM;
• Graphics - ATI Radeon HD 2400 or better / NVIDIA 8600M or better;
• Storage - at least 20 GB of available disk space;

SteamOS + Linux CS2 minimum requirements:

• OS – Ubuntu 12.04;
• Processor - 64-bit Dual core from Intel or AMD at 2.8 GHz;
• Memory – 4 GB RAM;
• Graphics - NVIDIA GeForce 8600/9600GT, ATI/AMD Radeon HD2600/3600 (Graphic Drivers: NVIDIA 310, AMD 12.11), OpenGL 2.1;
• Storage – at least 20 GB of available disk space;

It's important to note that the minimum system requirements presented above are solely based on those for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Valve, however, has already indicated that CS2 will have similar system requirements to CS:GO. If there are any changes, we will provide updates promptly.

News 5: Will CS2 be a free game?

Surprisingly enough, we still haven't covered this rather crucial detail about the game. Many players are wondering if the new Counter-Strike 2 is going to be a free game or if they will be forced to pay for it. However, Valve has already confirmed that the game is going to be free. As we can read on the official website of the game, "Counter-Strike 2 arrives this summer as a free upgrade to CS:GO. So build your loadout, hone your skills, and prepare yourself for what's next!"

This is intriguing, especially when considering that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was not initially free at launch. The game switched to a free-to-play model on December 6, 2018. Players could upgrade their game for $15 to get a Prime Status. Users with the Prime Status were matchmade only with other Prime Users and were able to earn XP and weekly item drops while playing. Furthermore, players who had already purchased Counter-Strike: Global Offensive before it switched to the free model were immediately awarded with the Prime Status. There were many different opinions about Prime (some fans love it, while other players state that it divided players into two groups - better and worse) but we cannot deny the fact that this system works well for this game. Besides, many players seem to forget that the paywall concept of the Prime Status actually allowed for the influx of cheaters and smurf accounts in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to be stopped. It should be noted that as soon as the game switched to the free model, it was flooded with cheaters and smurfs who destroyed the matching experience.

While Prime Status did not remove the problem completely, it reduced it by a lot. Hence, it is safe to assume that a similar concept is going to be implemented in CS2, especially if we take into consideration the fact that Counter Strike 2 is going to be a free game. Considering these facts, there remain two questions for which we need answers:

1. Is CS2 going to feature the same business model as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive?
2. If the business model is going to be the same, then what about my Prime Status? Is it going to be transferred to Counter-Strike 2 as well?

Unfortunately, at the current moment we are not able to provide you with answers to these questions. The only thing we know for sure is that CS2 is going to be a free upgrade to CS:GO on launch day. However, it is safe to assume that our Prime Status will be transferred to Counter-Strike 2. Imagine the potential community backlash if players were required to repurchase the premium account.

Any news about CS2 – summary

The information provided above covers the most important news about CS2 that appeared on the internet between April and May 2023. Some of you may be wondering why we decided not to cover any details about new patch notes, information about map upgrades, etc. The answer to this question is simple: new changes and tweaks are implemented so quickly that by the time we publish this article, tons of new upgrades will have been released. Therefore, we decided to focus on other matters that are as important to players as potential patch notes. All in all, if the release date is accurate, then in a few weeks we will be able to enjoy Counter Strike 2. Will the game be good? We are about to find out. Until then, we will provide you with all the important details about CS2.