Have you heard? Valve announced the upcoming launch of Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) but with a vague “Summer 2023” release window. For fans who think this major release in the popular first-person shooter series can’t come soon enough, there’s actually a way to play the game now.
Game developer Valve is currently allowing a lucky few to join the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test. It is basically a closed beta version in which players are given early access to the game so that Valve can receive valuable feedback and make some final touches before the game’s official release.
Who can play Counter-Strike 2?
Don’t get too excited just yet though, as the limited test is by invitation only. There is no direct way to register for the beta as of writing. If you were eligible to play, you must have been selected already by Valve. The game development team chose players on certain factors, such as their recent activity on Valve’s game servers and having a high trust factor and good Steam account standing. No banned cheaters are allowed. Also, the limited test only runs on Windows for now.
Valve is expected to release more invites to CS2 beta limited test in the coming weeks, so watch out for that.
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How to download and play CS2
If you were selected, launch Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and see if you got a notification on the main menu. In it, you’ll get the option to enroll and then download Counter-Strike 2. When the download is finished, choose the Limited Test option to play. As the game is a free update to CS:GO, your inventory items from that game are available for use in CS2.
What to expect in Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test?
Several anticipated features are not available yet in this pre-release version of Counter-Strike 2. Right now, players can only play on a single map, Dust2, with two matchmaking modes: Deathmatch and Unranked Competitive. But more modes and maps will be available at a later time.
That’s the only way to play Counter-Strike 2 for now. Fortunately, per the official FAQs page of the limited test, more players will be invited over time as Valve will need player feedback during future test releases for other game modes and maps. As streaming the limited test is allowed, go watch and see if your favorite streamer is playing the game while you wait for your own invite.
We’ll update this article once more information about the CS2 beta is available.