We’ve all been waiting patiently for Valve to announce anything, especially regarding a Source 2 update for CSGO. Dota 2 has been running on Source 2 for almost 8 years now, which has left many Counter-Strike enjoyers wondering when their turn is going to come. That time seems to finally be upon us!
In this article, we’re going to cover every piece of “leaked” information that was recently discovered, and published on Twitter. We’ll go over dates, theories and speculation, confirmed information, and everything in between. Read along, and let’s dive into it!
Huge CSGO Source 2 Leak Found
As some of you already know, the CS community gets excited very easily. It got to the point that CSGO’s Twitter account could simply update its banner, and the community would absolutely lose it. Theories and conspiracies started flying around wild when they did that last time, 9 days ago.
This time, however, we’re talking about more than just a theory.
Richard Lewis, an experienced and notable esports journalist, received word from anonymous but credible sources that a CSGO is due for an update, and a big one at that!
These sources confirmed that the game, Counter-Strike 2, appears to be close to its beta release and that we are likely to see it released by the end of March, with April 1st as the outside.
Two more years and we’ll mark a decade since the engine’s initial release in 2015 (for Dota 2).
Now, you could still argue that these are just rumors, and, historically, you’d likely be right. This time, however, we could see Richard Lewis writing with a lot more certainty, and he is the kind of journalist to publish news only if he’s very confident in the credibility of the information.
In addition to this, @GabeFollower, a popular Twitter account that covers all things Valve (leaks, news, theories, etc.), published a tweet pointing out that NVIDIA’s most recent driver update introduced support for 2 unknown executables, one called “cs2.exe” and the other “csgos2.exe”.
Along with this, the same Twitter persona also posted a threaded tweet regarding a leak of CSGO files left over in a Dota 2 update. His tweet includes a GitHub link for those of you who are code-savvy, unlike the writer, but for those of you who aren’t, it’s essentially a bunch of leftover files indicating there’s a version of CS that’s going to run on the same engine as Dota 2, aka Source 2.
The extent of the upgrade is unknown as of right now, but what we do know is that Counter-Strike 2 is expected to run on 128-tick servers, which is definitely something to look forward to.
Slight visual upgrades are also expected, along with a healthier matchmaking system and possibly even a ranking system overhaul.
Both of these are huge issues in the current version of the game, so much so that 3rd-party software like FACEIT became almost a must-have if you’re looking for a healthy competitive environment. If Valve was to introduce its own system, developed with or without FACEIT’s assistance, it could be an enormous positive change. Fingers crossed!
Perhaps they could partner with Valve to develop an anti-cheat, as well as an upgraded ranking system, and a transition to 128-tick servers.
One of the concerns the CSGO community had so far is skins – will they stay or will they be removed? This question was posed by many, and understandably so. To ease everyone’s mind, I refer you to what Richard himself said in his tweet’s comment section: “Valve aren’t crazy. They won’t wipe out people’s inventories”.
What do you think Valve is going to do? What do you think they should do? Regardless of what happens, the ItemLevel team will, as always, keep you posted as the situation develops.
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