About Counter-Strike 2
Counter-Strike 2 is a free-to-play multiplayer tactical first-person shooter developed and published by Valve. Released in September 2023, it is the fifth main entry in the Counter-Strike series and serves as a direct replacement for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Steam. Two teams, Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists, compete in objective-based rounds across modes such as bomb defusal and hostage rescue. Built on the Source 2 engine, the game introduced volumetric smoke physics, revised weapon handling, and a new sub-tick server architecture. It inherited all cosmetic items from its predecessor and features both a map-specific Competitive mode and a numerically ranked Premier mode.
Release dates by platform
Reviews & players
PC system requirements
Official specs from Steam
Minimum
| OS | Windows® 10 |
|---|---|
| Processor | 4 hardware CPU threads - Intel® Core™ i5 750 or higher |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics | Video card must be 1 GB or more and should be a DirectX 11-compatible with support for Shader Model 5.0 |
| DirectX | Version 11 |
| Storage | 85 GB available space |
Counter-Strike 2 FAQ
When did Counter-Strike 2 come out?
Counter-Strike 2 was released on September 27, 2023 for PC and Linux.
Is Counter-Strike 2 on PlayStation 5?
No. Counter-Strike 2 has not been announced for PlayStation 5. It is available on PC and Linux.
Is Counter-Strike 2 on Xbox Series X|S?
No. Counter-Strike 2 has not been announced for Xbox Series X|S. It is available on PC and Linux.
Is Counter-Strike 2 on Nintendo Switch 2?
No. Counter-Strike 2 has not been announced for Nintendo Switch 2. It is available on PC and Linux.
Who is making Counter-Strike 2?
Counter-Strike 2 is developed by Valve.
Is Counter-Strike 2 multiplayer?
Yes. Counter-Strike 2 supports single player and multiplayer.
Is Counter-Strike 2 free to play?
Yes, Counter-Strike 2 is free to play on Steam.
Is Counter-Strike 2 good?
Steam players rate it "Very Positive" — 86% of 9,910,858 reviews are positive.
What are the minimum PC requirements for Counter-Strike 2?
The minimum GPU is Video card must be 1 GB or more and should be a DirectX 11-compatible with support for Shader Model 5.0. See the full minimum and recommended specs on our Counter-Strike 2 system requirements page.
Counter-Strike series
10 games in release order
