![](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Counter-Strike-2-e258.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
After 11 years and a fairly smooth beta test, Counter-Strike gets a face-lift and a new engine.<\/p>\n
Strategic first person shooter Counter-Strike has been one of the most popular game franchises since its original release as a Half-Life mod in 1999.<\/p>\n
Decades later and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is still hugely popular, consistently topping charts for most played and watched game, despite it rarely getting significant upgrades from developer and publisher Valve.<\/p>\n
But today Counter-Strike: Global Offensive morphs into what from now on will simply be called Counter-Strike 2.<\/p>\n
Counter-Strike 2 is not an entirely new game but a forced upgrade of its predecessor, which means if you have Global Offensive already, you\u2019ll have the remastered version after you update the game.<\/p>\n
The big change in the new game is its new engine, Source 2, which came out in 2015 and was first used in Dota 2.<\/p>\n
The new engine should make the game look and feel better, with Valve describing it as, \u2018The biggest technical leap forward in Counter Strike history, ensuring new features and updates for years to come.\u2019<\/p>\n
Other updates include a new rating system, cleaner looking maps, reimagined visual effects like blood splatter, and smoke grenades that adjust to the environment.<\/p>\n
There should also be an improvement to the time the engine takes to respond to actions like jumping and shooting.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an update that\u2019s needed for the game to keep up with advancing technology, although after 11 years many would probably have liked to see even more changes, such as new maps.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a long wait for a refurbished version of the same game, but at least Counter-Strike 2 is still free-to-play and players can carry over existing inventories to the new game.<\/p>\n