Is there a new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive incoming?

Recon Mission

This weekend saw the unearthing of a rumor that Valve may be gearing up to release a new edition of its popular tactical shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), and perhaps even release this supposed surprise title as soon as the coming weeks/months.

The news comes from veteran CS:GO leaker and esports journalist Richard Lewis, who noticed that the latest updates for NVIDIA graphics cards feature item entries for “CSGOS2” and “Counter-Strike 2”. The items, which were initially dug up by community member @aquaismissing, suggest that a potential new title is prepped to make an appearance in the very near future. Leading many to assume that a sequel to the 2012 release is locked, loaded, and preparing to open fire in the very near future.

Making sure you all understood it right, once again:

– NVIDIA got CS:GO Source 2 Game Profile
– Source 2 is happening; it's a real thing with it's own executable 'csgos2.exe'
– 'cs2.exe' is old and irrelevant, your skins are safe, no separate games are being made https://t.co/a5cBKxEtF4

— Aquarius (@aquaismissing) March 2, 2023

However, @aquaismissing poses a far simpler and more believable theory: that Valve is simply preparing to release an updated, Source 2 edition of the now 11-year-old shooter, complete with better connectivity, modern servers, a tauter engine, and perhaps even improved visuals and textures. As such, it seems more likely that it is an updated version of the original game that is being prepared for release — similar to Ubisoft updating Rainbow Six Siege for Gen 9 platforms — rather than a straight, ground-up sequel to the popular competitive shooter

We’ll be sure to keep you updated once the official word is forthcoming from Valve.