Valve has put the serial speculators out of their misery – after months of conspiracy level rumours Counter-Strike 2 has been formally unveiled.
With no specific release date set, we can all enjoy the signature Valve release schedule of “Soon™” as a window has been describe as mid-year. The title will be a free comprehensive update to CS:GO – and a cadre of existing players can access a limited technical test and really kick the tyres of what bomb-planting will look like in the future.
But the coolest part of this review, is that it comes with a range of awesome development videos that show off the improvements coming to the game – No cinematic trailer, no teaser, no bullshit. Just a spotlight on what they have been working on.
And one of those things are volumetric smoke grenades, that look positively incredible:
I am no high level CS player, but everyone who has slipped into a ski-mask knows that chokepoints end up being a smoky nightmare for a long-ass time. This change to how smoke grenades interact with space is neat enough – but the fact that the smoke volume can be manipulated by gameplay?? The mind reels at how it will impact the game, with so much player risk and reward when dealing with the perfidious particulates.
Of course being a major engine update, the game will also enjoy a range of visual and mechanical updates – further highlighted by more spotlight videos that discuss both the fidelity of the world and how the dastardly tick rate debate may finally be at an end.
It’s a giant leap forward for the classic title, and an exciting glimpse into the technology that Valve is still packing into their Source engine, especially after seeing just how robust it performed in something like Half-Life: Alyx. Perhaps a Team Fortress 2 engine upgrade could come in future?
Being a massive update to the game rather than a wholesale replacement, Valve has also explained that the inventories of players will persist and of course look even sexier – so don’t go gambling away all your wealth just yet.
Are you a long term bomb planter? Keen to play in the sexy new smoke? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
Known throughout the interwebs simply as M0D3Rn, Ash is bad at video games. An old guard gamer who suffers from being generally opinionated, it comes as no surprise that he is both brutally loyal and yet, fiercely whimsical about all things electronic. On occasion will make a youtube video that actually gets views. Follow him on YouTube @Bad at Video Games
