The Counter-Strike 2 beta test is now open. And if you’re already a CS:GO player, you can get involved.
Now that Valve has officially revealed Counter-Strike 2, and that it’s due for launch this summer, one glaring question remains: when’s the beta, and how can players get involved?
Proving recent rumours correct, the Counter-Strike 2 beta test phase is indeed taking place from this week, and will continue for an unspecified period of time leading up to launch.
If you’re already a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player, there’s good news – Valve is understandably picking from that group to play the Counter-Strike 2 “Limited Test” as it’s calling it.
Valve is still being choosy over who it selects out of its pool of CS:GO players, though, with candidates chosen based on such criteria as how long they’ve spent on Valve servers and their Steam account standing. If a CS:GO player gets picked for the test, they’ll get a notification on CS:GO’s main menu – from there, they’ll be able to click an ‘Enroll’ button and download the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test.
Valve points out that more players will be added to the test over time, though, so if you don’t get a notification right away, don’t fret – you might still get selected in the coming weeks.
You can read full details of the Counter-Strike 2 beta test over in Valve’s handy FAQ.
Announced yesterday, Counter-Strike 2 will be available as a free upgrade to CS:GO players, with all inventory items being transferrable over to the new game. As we saw in the trio of videos that accompanied the announcement, Counter-Strike 2 is a refinement of the old formula rather than a radical overhaul, with existing maps, visual effects like lighting and smoke, and tick rates all given a current-gen overhaul.
Valve’s venerable multiplayer shooter series is well over 20 years old now; with a player base running into the millions, Counter-Strike 2 should keep it going for many years to come.
