The first installment in the Counter-Strike series has been a popular PC title across the world for nearly twenty-four years. Now, in a surprise launch, the second game, Counter-Strike 2, is available on Steam and is amassing a large player base already. With all of this hype, you’ll want to get in on the action sooner rather than later, so we are here to answer if Counter-Strike 2 is free as well as explain the CS2 download.
Yes, Counter-Strike 2 is a completely free-to-play game. In fact, it’s almost the same as the first installment in the way you can easily install and start playing directly from the Steam client. If you have ever played the first Counter-Strike, then you will be able to transfer everything from that game to the second one since it is basically an update of sorts. Anything you’ve purchased from cosmetics to progress will all be transferred seamlessly, though you’ll probably want to know that getting this game will mean the official end of CS:GO on your PC.
CS2 Download Explained
The download for Counter-Strike 2 is pretty simple. First, you have to assess whether or not you have ever played CS:GO and if you have, check if it’s still installed on your PC. Doing these checks will allow you to update your version of Counter-Strike to the sequel.
If you have never played the game, then you can head to the Steam page for Counter-Strike 2 and simply click on the Play Game button. This will begin the installation for the game and a window will appear for your preferences in having a desktop icon or not.
Can You Still Play CS:GO?
While it might not seem very obvious at first, downloading CS2 will mean the end of CS:GO on your PC. There will not be a way to return to the previous version of the game, meaning that all future correspondence and esports news will be referencing the second installment, similar to what Blizzard did when Overwatch 2 launched. Realistically, the original game will be unplayable as you will be forced to make the change to the next game, so a new era of gaming starts today for many players.
