After fans spotted a “Counter-Strike 2” Game Profile entry in an Nvidia driver update, Valve has filed two new trademarks for “CS2” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The discovery of the USPTO entries adds further fuel to the rumors of Counter-Strike 2 being in development, but Valve has provided no official confirmation of its existence as of yet.
Earlier in March, data miners found a new Game Profile entry for “Counter-Strike 2” inside the then-latest Nvidia driver update, pointing to the executable files “csgos2.exe” and “cs2.exe.” A report then claimed that a Counter-Strike 2 project was indeed under development as an improved version of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. “CS2” or “CS:GO 2” runs on Valve’s Source 2 engine according to the report with 128-tick servers, and will enter beta in late March.
Two new USPTO trademark listings for “CS2” by Valve have now surfaced, lending further credence to the report. Both listings were filed on March 14 and list the same attorney of record, but have different trademark classes and descriptions. The first CS2 listing covers “computer game software, electronic game software, video game software, computer game programs downloadable via the internet,” while the second covers “entertainment services, namely, providing online video games; provision of on-line entertainment, namely, on-line computer games; providing on-line computer games and on-line video games; electronic games services provided by means of the Internet; providing information in the fields of computer games and entertainment via the Internet; organization of competitions relating to video games, video game education, and video game entertainment; providing information in the field of on-line computer games and on-line video games and computer games.”
While Valve has not confirmed the existence of a Counter-Strike 2, the new trademark listings combined with the previous report point strongly towards that conclusion. Keep in mind that the company is not averse to practical jokes, and the first of April is nigh. Stay tuned here at MP1st for all upcoming CS2 news and announcements.
Source: PC Gamer