Counter-Strike 2, the latest entry in Valve’s long-running first-person shooter franchise, will revolutionize the gameplay experience in many ways, with upgraded physics and lighting effects coupled with a graphical overhaul and a multitude of performance fixes serving as a quantum leap from CS:GO, the current main entry of the series.
Related: Will CS:GO Items carry over to Counter-Strike 2?
With the new changes, fans old and new are more than likely going to give Counter-Strike a spin again, be it after a short absence or as a way to relive decades-old experiences. However, the technology market has not stood still while we were all stuck with CS:GO, so now there are some interesting alternative options other than PC to discover what the game will have to offer.
Read on to find out more about the consoles and platforms where CS2 will be available.
Which consoles and platforms CS2 will be available on
As Valve’s announcement post confirms, CS2 will be rolled out as a free upgrade to CS:GO, so it will be available on the same platforms and consoles as the original game. For PC, the relevant storefront in question is obviously going to continue to be Steam, Valve’s own juggernaut of a platform. CS:GO is available on OSX and Linux, and it was also originally rolled out for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Whether it will also be made available for the latest generation of consoles remains to be seen.
Veterans of the series will remember that CS:GO’s console launch was orchestrated by Hidden Path Entertainment, and that the company was also going to be responsible for the main PC version, but the rollout was so poorly-received that Valve and their own team of developers stepped in to fix up things.
Unlike that time, when the player base of the franchise was split between 1.6 and Source, and it took a while for the best and brightest of the scene to move over to CS:GO, now the overwhelming plurality of players are consolidated in Global Offensive. With CS2 launching as an upgrade to this title, expect a much more seamless transition this time around.
With CS2 set for a summer release and a limited test currently underway, there are still going to be tweaks and changes made to the product, and this may very well involve various console rollouts—but as a shooter revolving around fast reflexes and precise gunplay, one with no history of aim assistance tools, PC is most likely the way to go if you want to get the most out of the experience.
