It’s official—Counter-Strike 2 has finally been announced by Valve themselves! The announcement was made via Twitter and features a short gameplay clip of smoke grenades and the changes made to them in CS2. Counter-Strike 2 is set to launch this Summer 2023. 

Here’s the official Tweet:

Today we're excited to announce Counter-Strike 2. Counter-Strike 2 is an overhaul to every system, every piece of content, and every part of the C-S experience. First, let's talk about smoke grenades: pic.twitter.com/iTtguRHJ0S

— CS:GO (@CounterStrike) March 22, 2023

The new smoke grenades are dynamic in nature, with the smoke being “volumetric 3D objects that live in the world.” This causes the smoke to look the same no matter where you look at it, and it will also interact with the environment for more realistic smoke effects. This is made possible thanks to the new game engine used in CS2. The smoke grenade change is part of Counter-Strike 2’s complete overhaul of CS, according to the tweet, with the systems and content changed up to modern standards. 

Counter-Strike 2 was leaked a couple of weeks ago in a reference found on Nvidia drivers. And just a few days prior, Valve had trademarked “CS2,” further rousing suspicions that the game would be announced relatively soon after. 

With Counter-Strike 2 launching later this year in Summer 2023, players won’t have to wait long before they get to try out the new game engine. While Valve hasn’t announced which platforms CS2 will be on, it will most likely come to PC and maybe even consoles. Once Valve releases more information about CS2’s new system and content, we’ll be sure to let you know.