Info NVIDIA’s latest drivers hint at Counter-Strike 2 or Counter-Strike Source 2 game release.

Hi guys,

I think every gamer on this planet earth might have heard about Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, or CSGO as it is more commonly referred to as. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a monumental game that after more than ten years is still breaking records.

It now appears that the latest drivers for NVIDIA GPUs have a reference hidden within the ‘Game Profiles’ in the update’s code that mentions ‘CSGOS2’ and ‘CS2’. This could be an indicator of the imminent arrival of an upgrade that will see CSGO ported over to Source 2, Valve’s more recent game engine. Though, take this leak with a grain of salt, since officially nothing has been hinted and/or confirmed.

According to a recent post on Reddit, NVIDIA Drivers have added a game profile for CS:GO2, sparking speculation that a new installment in the franchise may be in the works.

But many would likely debunk this leak or just straight out ignore it, but it’s worth reminding that this is how many games have been leaked in the past, when they showed up on NVIDA’s drivers before they were officially released.

More importantly, at face value, ‘CSGOS2’ moniker could quite literally mean ‘CSGO Source 2’, but the confusion was heightened following the inclusion of the term ‘Counter-strike 2’, which led some fans to believe that a sequel to CSGO was on the way.

A sequel may seem unlikely, but according to me, the main reason why it is unlikely that Source 2 will also be coming to CS:GO in the near future, is that the game is still HIGHLY popular and successful.

With a strong player base and a thriving esports scene, Valve may not feel the need to update the game engine. Additionally, developing a new game engine is a time-consuming and expensive process. It is unlikely that Valve would invest the resources needed to create a new engine for a game that is still performing shockingly well.

Other Valve-powered titles, such as Dota 2, run on Source 2, but despite being the firm’s flagship multiplayer title, CSGO remains on Source, which is almost two decades old and somewhat outdated. And recently, the game broke peak player records on Steam, with a concurrent count reaching as high as 1,354,248 users, ouch !

As arguably the leading esports title, CSGO quite literally holds the weight of an entire industry on its shoulders.

Source modder, Gabe Follower, decided to do some additional digging. The option for “csgos2” now appears in every other NVIDIA driver. But of course, an option in an NVIDIA driver is not solid proof that a sequel or port is coming out in the near future.

My guess is that this is most likely the rumored remaster of CS in Source 2 Engine. After all, it can’t be a sequel to CSGO as we’d have heard at least something about such a huge project.

IF this is indeed Counter-Strike Source 2, then it will most likely only feature some QoL improvements (as well as some performance improvements due to Source2 Engine). What’s really interesting here is that these two executables (and the game profile) are brand new. So yeah, this does appear to be a legit leak to some extent.

Although, many were quick to speculate that if CSGO was upgraded to Source 2, then it wouldn’t be an instant release. Instead, Valve would most likely release the product as a BETA, in order to gather information and feedback, do some testing, troubleshooting, and then potentially consider a rollout of a more polished version, assuming they have plans to do this.

Anyways, let’s wait and see if this ten-year-old game will indeed receive a serious upgrade in the coming weeks/months or not.


View: https://twitter.com/gabefollower/status/1631002572881362954

View: https://twitter.com/aquaismissing/status/1631002399111348246

PS:

I'm not a CSGO player though. I don't play online/MP games.
 
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Some slight update:

PCGamer actually had a peek at the driver data using Nvidia Profile Inspector and the author can confirm that the csgos2.exe profile is indeed there. So there is some ray of hope.


Nvidia driver's 'csgos2.exe' reference reinvigorates CS:GO update speculation | PC Gamer

Also, Gabe Follower actually tried tricking Geforce Experience/GFE to think it's CSGO 2. From the looks of the config it seems to be a fallback and calls the steam protocol regardless which it found, one user Tweeted:

View: https://twitter.com/gabefollower/status/1631396698332229633
 
Some confirmation on this leak and the doubts surrounding it.

It seems that NVIDIA’s drivers have indeed leaked this new CS game. Valve has just updated DOTA 2 and this latest update actually comes with some files for Counter-Strike 2 (or Counter-Strike GO Source 2).


https://github.com/SteamDatabase/GameTracking-Dota2/commit/1aa90b207f7cf5670627ef619148d956a618c40f

View: https://twitter.com/gabefollower/status/1632885472111329280

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7D8ylZVIec&t=17s&ab_channel=CAZEGAMING
 
AND...... finally the leaks and rumors are now official.

Counter-Strike 2 Officially Announced by Valve for Summer 2023 Launch, Limited Test Incoming Today.

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This is the official game's description and website. You can read all the details here:

Counter-Strike 2 | Limited Test


"Counter-Strike 2 is the largest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike’s history, ensuring new features and updates for years to come.

All of the game’s new features will be revealed when it officially launches this summer, but the road to Counter-Strike 2 begins today as a Limited Test for select CS:GO players. During this testing period, we’ll be evaluating a subset of features to shake out any issues before the worldwide release."

Counter-Strike 2 arrives this summer as a free upgrade to CS:GO. So build your loadout, hone your skills, and prepare yourself for what's next! Read on to learn more about some of the features of the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test.


"From UI to gameplay, all visual effects have been reimagined. All of the visual effects have been updated in Counter-Strike 2. With Source 2 lighting and particle systems, there's an all-new look and behavior for water, explosions, fire, smoke, muzzle flashes, bullet tracers, impact effects, and more."

View: https://youtu.be/ExZtISgOxEQ

View: https://youtu.be/_y9MpNcAitQ

View: https://youtu.be/GqhhFl5zgA0