Early on in Counter-Strike 2‘s limited test period, it was made clear by Valve that the game would be released during Summer 2023. With only a week left until summer ends, it was beginning to look like we should expect a release closer to the end of the year. Here is everything we know about the highly anticipated CS2 release date.
You can even see on the official site that the quote is still visible. “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!“. It was only two weeks ago that Valve announced the Limited Test being expanded to more players. And based on comments we have seen on forums including Reddit, HLTV and others – it is clear that there is a lot the community wants developers to work on still.
A major update to the timeline happened on September the 20th. With the official CS Twitter account making a suggestive post that we should expect a major release on Wednesday 27th September.
This is a call back to a post they made in December 2018 where they posted the exact same comment. This led to the imminent release of CS:GO becoming F2P (free-to-play) as well as the deployment of Danger Zone. Perhaps it is about time to start getting excited for an ambiguous release date of September 27th!
What has happened so far?
To speculate further on the possible CS2 release date, we need to look back at what has happened so far. We want to examine the timeline of events in 2023.
- March 22nd: The CS2 Limited Test officially begins. Players have the chance to access the game with only Dust II available to play.
- June 6th: Mirage replaces Dust II on the official Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test matchmaking servers
- June 9th: A second wave of players get invited to join the CS2 Limited Test
- June 29th: Casual game mode is added. Nuke and Office are now available to play with Mirage removed
- June 17th: Wingman game mode added. Overpass and Vertigo are now playable. Nuke and Office are removed
- August 2nd: Anubis and Ancient are added to the game. Overpass and Vertigo temporarily removed
- August 15th: Italy added. Anubis and Ancient removed
- August 17th: All previously available maps are now reintroduced to CS2
- August 31st: Premier mode is added to CS2 as well as the CS Rating leader boards
- September 1st: The CS2 Limited Test is now available to all players who meet the core requirements
- September 20th: The official CounterStrike Twitter account makes a post strongly suggesting a big release on Wednesday 27th September 2023
- September 26th: The CounterStrike Twitter account updates its banner to say “Dawn of The Final Day” as a reference to The Legend of Zelda – Majora’s Mask
- September 27th: CS2 is released!
When will tournaments start using CS2?
Some large tournaments, such as ESL Pro League, are already in progress as of September. Many players were already expecting a clearer CS2 release date to allow themselves to be ready for the launch. It’s certainly possible that the most prestigious tournament operators such as ESL, FACEIT, BLAST and others are aware of the release date. But if they are, the secret is being guarded very closely.
One strong speculation that is currently circulating the community is that Valve will release CS2 during October. They may have missed their original release date for Summer 2023, but they are likely going to want to release as soon as they can after. The game is approaching a strong state where it will likely gain traction. Particularly with a Major approaching in 2024, Valve and the community will want the players to be well practiced in Counter-Strike 2 to deliver an exciting spectacle.
Will you still be able to play CSGO after CS2 is released?
Once the CS2 release date is confirmed and we approach the date, it will be time to say goodbye to CSGO. The update will move the game from CSGO across to CS2. This will render CSGO unavailable as players move to the updated version. It is similar to what Blizzard has done with Overwatch 2, where they moved players across and made the previous version of the game inaccessible.
CS2 Release FAQ
Based on a recent Twitter post by the official CounterStrike account, there are strong indications that CS2 will release on Wednesday 27th September.
As reported on Tuesday 26th September there is an indication that of all people playing Counter-Strike, 58% are playing CS2.
