Will Counter-Strike 2 Replace CSGO On Release? Answered

The much-anticipated Counter-Strike 2 is right around the corner, and many players are wondering if they will still be able to play the older Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) game after therelease of Counter-Strike 2. Will CS:GO be deleted after the CS2 launch? Here are all the details on whether Counter Strike 2 replaces CSGO on release.

The Future of CS:GO After Counter-Strike 2 Launch

We have reasons to believe that Counter-Strike 2“will be replacing the older game”known as CS:GO. Currently, in the CS2 Beta, the game files are located within the CS:GO installation folder. On top of that,SteamDB lists Counter-Strike 2with the app ID – 2279720, but it exists within a parent app with the ID 730, which is for CS:GO.

So, during the beta, the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test existed inside of CS:GO. When I got access to theCS2 beta, the Steam app asked me every time whether I wanted to launch Counter-Strike 2 or the older game, confirming the existence of both games in the same folder. Next, Valve has already confirmed some features of Counter-Strike 2 that point towards CS2 replacing CS:GO when the new game launches.

When the CS2 Limited Test was announced, Valve said that you “bring your entire CS:GO inventory with you to Counter-Strike 2.” Further, the developers went on to mention that every CS:GO item a player has collected and has been using over the years will“benefit from Source 2 lighting and materials.”

Moreover, the devs confirmed that the stock weapon models from CS:GO will be upgraded with high-resolution ones. Since I have the CS2 beta, find my inventory page attached below. As you can see here, a lot of my previous inventory items, including the2015 service medal(issued seven years ago), are in my Counter-Strike 2 inventory.

In addition, Counter-Strike 2 uses many of the same assets from the older game. Yeah, the new game has new and evolved maps. But, there are also maps that simply received Source 2 lighting and graphics upgrades, and the textures still look the same as Global Offensive. Those maps look similar to the older game, just in the Source 2 engine. All of this points towardsCounter-Strike 2 replacing CS:GO.

Can You Play CSGO After Counter-Strike 2 Comes Out?

Will there be any way to play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) after the launch of CS2? Well, the answer is NO. You can no longer download CS:GO from Steam anymore. After thelaunch of Counter-Strike 2, this is what the officialCounter-Strike lineuplooks like when you search for it on the Steam store. In the below image, you can see that CS2 replaces CSGO on the CS lineup. Moreover, the CS:GO store link now redirects to the Counter-Strike 2 listing, thus, confirming that the game has been replaced.

People have used unofficial versions of Dota 2’s Source 1 engine (downloaded at the user’s discretion).Dota 2 also got the Source 2engine update like Counter Strike 2 just did. And many have used this unofficial Dota 2 (Older, Source 1 version) to replay the older demos of really old ‘The International’ tournaments that were held in the Source 1 era of the game. So, to see GOTV demos in Counter Strike 2 for older tournaments, doing a similar workaround might be possible. Do keep in mind thatValve does not seem to officially distributeCSGO filesanymore.

Valve has transitioned intoCounter-Strike 2officially. Older assets (including inventory items) from the older game will be used in the new one. There might be an unofficial version available of CS:GO on the internet. But, you won’t be able to play it online unless Valve or third-party servers exist. And even if you are, we recommend against it due to malware and other security concerns.

Previous Counter-Strike games exist, includingCounter-Strike 1.6,Counter-Strike: Source, and more. But since Valve had such a massive economy in CS:GO, the best decision was to transition into the new game.

If Valve releases the legacy CS:GO version in a different Steam Store listing, we will update this section. One confirmed way to keep playing CS:GO is to play it on older consoles. Yes, this game did actually come out on thePS3 & Xbox 360. That version hasn’t been updated in a long time. If you own those gaming consoles and have CS:GO installed on them, technically, Valve can’t stop you from playing CSGO. There might be a way to use the originalDVD for CS:GO (PC Version)to play the older game too.

With all that said, players will definitely miss the iconic era ofCounter-Strike: Global Offensive. What are your thoughts on CS2? Do you wish for Valve to give players a way to access CS:GO? Let us know in the comments below.

Satyam Kumar

Highly passionate about technology. Major expertise in PC hardware, the VR industry, esports-centric gear, and other gadgets. In my spare time, I’m usually researching exciting hardware breakthroughs or playing competitive games.

Add new comment

Name

Email ID

Δ

01

02

03

04

05