Image: Valve
More and more Counter-Strike 2 files are popping up in datamines, pointing to an imminent launch.
Earlier this month, a datamine pointed towards a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Source 2 beta launching as early as this month. That rumour is looking more likely by the day, with another datamine revealing that Valve added Source 2 files to the game’s ‘developer pre-release branch’ this week.
Dataminer Aquarius revealed that a few Source 2 files have been added to the Steam backend for CS:GO, all but cementing the fact that Valve is preparing to launch the game’s new version soon. Executables like ‘cs2.exe’ have also been dug up, hinting that Valve might call the new title either ‘Counter-Strike GO Source 2’ or just ‘Counter-Strike 2’. The company has remained silent amid all these leaks, so we can only really speculate for now.
Based on these leaks, we know that Valve is working on a version of CS:GO that runs on Source 2, but we don’t know if it’s a simple engine port or a big graphical upgrade with new content. Valve might want to preserve the CS:GO experience players are already so attached to and only afford the new version slight graphical upgrades, so it doesn’t impact the game’s competitive scene. However, Source 2 will still give level designers a lot more room to come up with better-looking maps.
Whether this is a simple port or a full-fledged sequel to CS:GO, there are plenty of reasons to get excited for the upcoming rumoured beta launching this month. Seeing as the new version’s executables are floating around online, we might not even have to wait a full week for an update.