The public playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive won’t have to dig into their wallets at Valve’s announcement.

In short, all we need to know (as we’ve been following the rumors frequently) is that in limited testing, Counter-Strike 2 is already available, and the game running on the Source 2 engine will be released this summer with a free update to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. So anyone who plays CS:GO can continue what they started up to ten years ago there.

Here are more details by Valve: “Counter-Strike 2 is the most significant technical leap forward in Counter-Strike’s history, ensuring new features and updates for years to come. The game’s new features will be revealed when it officially launches this summer, but the road to Counter-Strike 2 begins today as a Limited Test for select Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players. We’ll evaluate a subset of features during this testing period to shake out any issues before the worldwide release.

Smoke Grenades are now dynamic volumetric objects that interact with the environment and react to lighting, gunfire, and explosions. Smoke can interact directly with other gameplay events, creating new opportunities. Bullets and HE grenades can push smoke to clear sightlines or expand occlusion briefly. Now the smoke will seep out of opened doorways and broken windows, go down and upstairs, expand in long corridors, and combine with other smokes. In Counter-Strike 2, smoke particles work with the unified lighting system allowing for more realistic light and color.

Tick rate no longer matters for moving, shooting, or throwing. Sub-tick updates are the heart of Counter-Strike 2. Previously, the server only evaluated the world in discrete time intervals (called ticks). Thanks to Counter-Strike 2’s sub-tick update architecture, servers know the exact instant that motion starts, a shot is fired, or a ‘nade is thrown. As a result, regardless of tick rate, your moving and shooting will be equally responsive, and your grenades will always land the same way.

From upgrades to overhauls, maps are cleaner, brighter, and better. The overhauled maps have been rebuilt from the ground up, leveraging all the new Source 2 tools and rendering features. Upgrade maps use new Source 2 lighting, including a physically based rendering system that produces natural materials, lighting, and reflections. Touchstone maps are classic maps with solid foundations for players to evaluate gameplay changes from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to Counter-Strike 2. These have improved lighting and character reading but haven’t changed otherwise. The Source 2 tools and rendering features will be available for community map makers to make building, experimenting, and iterating easier. And stay tuned for the Source 2 Item Workshop, which will be available later in the limited test.

Bring your entire Counter-Strike: Global Offensive inventory with you to Counter-Strike 2. Not only will you keep every item you’ve collected over the years, but they’ll all benefit from Source 2 lighting and materials. In addition to supporting legacy models and finishes, all stock weapons have been upgraded with high-resolution models, and some weapon finishes take advantage of these new models.

From UI to gameplay, all visual effects have been reimagined. All of the visual effects have been updated in Counter-Strike 2. With Source 2 lighting and particle systems, there’s an all-new look and behavior for water, explosions, fire, smoke, muzzle flashes, bullet tracers, impact effects, and more. In Counter-Strike 2, the most critical gameplay visuals have been redesigned with readability in mind. Bullet impacts can be easily viewed at a distance, and directional blood impacts (that fade over time) give you more information as you move through the world. Experience completely reauthored explosions, fire, C4 lighting, and more. Leveraging the Source 2 Engine and modern hardware, environmental effects in Counter-Strike 2 feature improved visual fidelity and greater consistency. The UI in Counter-Strike 2 has been completely overhauled, including new visual effects throughout the HUD. Not only do these improvements look nice, but they also communicate critical game state. Counter-Strike 2 sounds have been reworked to reflect the physical environment better, be more distinct, and express more game states. They have also been rebalanced for a more comfortable listening experience.”

Counter-Strike 2 is coming to PC later this summer. More details here.

Source: Gematsu