Counter-Strike 2

About

Counter-Strike 2 is an upcoming overhaul of the 2012 multiplayer tactical first-person shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and the fifth game in the Counter-Strike series. Announced by game developer Valve in March 2023, the game was officially launched and replaced CS:GO in September 2023.

History

Announcement

On March 22nd, 2023, Valve announced Counter-Strike 2, an overhaul of its 2012 multiplayer tactical shooter game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.^[1] The game is expected to launch in Summer 2023. The announcement tweet^[2] received over 44,000 retweets and 212,700 likes in two hours (shown below).

Today we're excited to announce Counter-Strike 2. Counter-Strike 2 is an overhaul to every system, every piece of content, and every part of the C-S experience. First, let's talk about smoke grenades: pic.twitter.com/iTtguRHJ0S

— CS:GO (@CounterStrike) March 22, 2023

On that day, Valve uploaded a series of videos highlighting some of the changes in the upcoming overhaul, including smoke grenades that react to lighting, gunfire and explosions, use of sub-tick update architecture, and multiple maps having been fully rebuilt.

On the same day, Valve announced the start of a limited beta test for the game, available to selected players.^[3]

Launch

On September 27th, 2023, Counter-Strike 2 was officially launched,^[6] replacing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Steam. On that day, the official X / Twitter account for the game uploaded the release trailer for the game, with the post garnering over 4.3 million views, 40,000 repots and 140,000 likes in four hours (shown below).

pic.twitter.com/SM57ZVCTmI

— CS2 (@CounterStrike) September 27, 2023

Online Reactions

The official announcement of the game was followed by memes and discussions on social media. For example, on March 22nd, streamer and former CS:GO professional player Brax tweeted^[4] a Born Too Late joke about the game that gained over 150 retweets and 2,200 likes in two hours. Also that day, Twitter^[5] user @craftmeistercs tweeted a same student, 10-minute timelapse meme that gained over 360 retweets and 3,400 likes in one hour (shown below).

Counter-Strike 2 pic.twitter.com/vIDQhGqdCQ

— craftmeister♻️ (@craftmeistercs) March 22, 2023

The launch of the game was followed by multiple viral posts within the game's community. For example, esports platform FACEIT posted a "goodbye" montage of memorable moments from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive history that received over 6.9 million views, 9,400 reposts and 44,000 likes on X^[7] in five hours (shown below).

Goodbye CS:GO – you'll forever remain in our hearts. pic.twitter.com/g6MtSXEsyP

— FACEIT CS2 (@FACEITcs) September 27, 2023

Related Memes

Michael Jackson Peek

Michael Jackson Peek is a humorous name given to a bug in the 2023 video game Counter-Strike 2 which involves a player model tilting sideways while its feet remain in place in way visually reminiscent of Michael Jackson's trademark "anti-gravity lean." Discovered soon following the game's release by a Reddit user, the bug was successfully replicated and went viral in the community in mid-October 2023.

Michael Jackson Peek byu/thekappa27 inGlobalOffensive

Search Interest

External References