We Love It's Guide to…
Compete in round-based tactical firefights: buy weapons, plant or defuse the bomb, and coordinate with your team across maps.
Released 21 Aug 2012
Plant or Defuse
Buy Round Gear
Shape Smoke Cover
For over two decades, Counter-Strike has offered an elite competitive experience, one shaped by millions of players from across the globe. And now the next chapter in the CS story is about to begin. This is Counter-Strike 2.
Developed by Valve · Published by Valve
Counter-Strike 2 is a team-based first-person shooter built around objective-focused rounds. Players fight on opposing teams, with attackers working to plant a bomb and defenders trying to stop them or defuse it.
Between rounds, teams buy weapons and equipment, deciding whether to spend or save for later. In each round, players use gun skill, map knowledge, communication, and tactical tools such as smoke grenades to gain an advantage.
Players can try different modes, including competitive play and Deathmatch. Premier mode tracks CS Ratings and offers regional and global leaderboards; maps and Community Workshop tools also support play beyond standard matchmaking.
Some reviewers praise the shooting, map knowledge, and satisfaction of winning a tense round or improving over time, while others value playing and sharing memories with friends. The most recurring complaints in these reviews concern suspected cheaters and bots disrupting matches; players also criticize shot registration, matchmaking, and hostile teammate interactions.
For over two decades, Counter Strike has offered an elite competitive experience, one shaped by millions of players from across the globe. And now the next chapter in the CS story is about to begin. This is Counter Strike 2.
A free upgrade to CS:GO, Counter Strike 2 marks the largest technical leap in Counter Strike’s history. Built on the Source 2 engine, Counter Strike 2 is modernized with realistic physically-based rendering, state of the art networking, and upgraded Community Workshop tools.
In addition to the classic objective-focused gameplay that Counter Strike pioneered in 1999, Counter Strike 2 features:
All-new CS Ratings with the updated Premier mode
Global and Regional leaderboards
Upgraded and overhauled maps
Game-changing dynamic smoke grenades
Tick-rate-independent gameplay
Redesigned visual effects and audio
All items from CS:GO moving forward to CS2
| Platforms | Windows, Linux |
|---|---|
| Achievements | 1 |
| Age ratings |
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| Players | Up to 10 |
| Play modes |
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| Other modes |
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| Multiplayer | Counter-Strike 2 is a multiplayer-focused team-based shooter. The provided text explicitly describes its primary mode as competitive bomb defusal in 5v5 matches, and it also references Premier, Casual, Deathmatch, Arms Race, Hostage, community servers, and workshop-supported content. Store metadata confirms cross-platform multiplayer, PvP, co-op tags, and Steam Workshop support. |
| Multiplayer & mods | The text states that Counter-Strike 2 has upgraded Community Workshop tools and Steam Workshop support. Reviews also reference community servers, user-made maps, mods, and third-party matchmaking services. This indicates multiplayer is affected by community-created maps, servers, and custom content, but no specific multiplayer rule-changing mod support is formally described in the provided store text. |
| Controller required | No |
| DLC / extras | 1 listed on Steam |
| Content notices |
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| Website | Official website |
