Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 is Valve's Source 2 successor to CS:GO, delivered as a free upgrade rather than a separate purchase. The core game remains the same Terrorists-vs-Counter-Terrorists round-based shooter Counter-Strike has been since 1999, with the technical layer largely rewritten.

The headline change is dynamic smoke grenades: smokes now interact with the environment, get pushed by explosions and bullets, and flow into rooms rather than appearing as a static volume. The networking model has been overhauled to a sub-tick system, where the server records the exact moment of every input rather than snapping it to a fixed tick rate.

Maps have been split into three tiers — Touchstone (untouched), Upgrades (visual refresh, same geometry), and Overhauls (rebuilt from scratch in Source 2). Premier mode introduces a new CS Rating system with global and regional leaderboards.

All CS:GO items, skins, and stickers carry over. Community Workshop tools have been updated for Source 2, and the visual overhaul touches lighting, post-processing, and weapon models without changing the core feel of the gunplay.