A “Counter-Strike 2” beta could be arriving this month

Fans have recently speculated that Valve is preparing to release its Source 2 version of the legendary tactical shooter. Richard Lewis, a prominent journalist, has now shared new claims from sources that back up the rumors.

The details:

• Fans of the first-person shooter noticed last week that a recent update to Nvidia's control panel software added a new game profile for "Counter-Strike 2," which included executable files for "csgos2.exe" and "cs2.exe." The Counter-Strike community was alarmed by this new addition, as the current version of Global Offensive (CS:GO) is running on the nearly two-decade-old Source engine, with rumors of a port to Source 2 circulating for years at this point.
• According to Richard Lewis, sources close to the game's development have confirmed that a new version of CS:GO is on the way and has been in the works for some time. The anonymous sources also confirmed that "Counter-Strike 2" is a working title, but that a beta will be released as early as this month, with April 1 being specified. It's worth noting that these rumors could still be false, as the April 1st date seems suspicious, though Lewis is usually correct when it comes to Counter-Strike news of this caliber.
• "The big priority is getting this out and then polishing it, fixing any bugs, and bringing it up to the level people expect from CS," the source said, explaining why some of CS:GO's issues have recently gone without fixes or tweaks. Changes and upgrades that fans have requested, such as 128 tick rate servers similar to Riot's VALORANT, improvements to overall optimization, and a vastly improved matchmaking system that plans to eliminate the need for third-party services like FACEIT, are also on the way.

Recent valve news:

• The developer recently announced that in a single ban wave, it had banned over 40,000 cheaters in its MOBA Dota 2. Valve had included a secret honeypot in a recent patch that was only accessible to outside applications used by cheaters, and had then banned everyone who had obtained access to the code "in full confidence.”
• Counter-Strike 2's announcement couldn't have come at a better time, as CS:GO has officially broken its all-time player count record after more than a decade on the market, reaching 1,324,800 online players on February 19. The new high comes just a week after the previous high of 1,320,219 set on February 11.