Microsoft has announced the next wave of titles coming to Game Pass in October, starting today with Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Like a Dragon: Ishin! It’s playable on Xbox consoles, PC and cloud.
28.09.2023 - 23:17 / thesixthaxis.com
Valve has launched Counter-Strike 2, marking the start of a new era for the competitive tactical first person shooter. The game is now available as a free-to-play game via Steam, a free upgrade and full replacement to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – CS:GO is no longer playable.
While Counter-Strike 2 could be considered a remake in many respects, the game is a ground-up rebuild of the popular online FPS, making the jump to Valve’s Source 2 game engine and bringing deep technical upgrades to the experience. The new game engine has allowed for things like a new ‘sub-tick’ networking architecture, while the physically-based rendering allows for improved and more accurate audio, and new smoke grenades that create volumetric clouds that will react to gunfire and explosions, and are consistent and shared for all players.
As much as things have changed in the background, an awful lot of the game will be familiar to long-time players with many fan favourite maps being brought forward (remade with new lighting and tweaked for better visuals and gameplay flow), the same good old game modes, and more.
New players will be able to learn the basics through offline training, then hop into Casual and Deathmatch and unlock Competitive matchmaking, but existing CS:GO players will be able to dive straight into the good stuff.
Counter-Strike 2 going free-to-play makes a lot of sense in this day and age, but there is a wrinkle to this with the revamped Premier mode, in which players work to build up a new CS Rating. Premier mode is only accessible to players who have purchased Prime – a £12 upgrade – and have reached level 10. Those who have Prime Status are matched with other players that have Prime Status and will receive exclusive souvenir items, item drops, and weapon cases.
Announced back in March of this year, the game has been in a limited technical test phase for the last six months, building up to the full release overnight. This is a free-to-play replacement and upgrade to CS:GO, similar to how Overwatch 2 replaced the original Overwatch (though hopefully not quite as controversial amongst the fanbase). Importantly, because of this being a like-for-like replacement, all inventory items, skins and unlocks from CS:GO are carrying forward to CS2.
Source: Counter-Strike
Microsoft has announced the next wave of titles coming to Game Pass in October, starting today with Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Like a Dragon: Ishin! It’s playable on Xbox consoles, PC and cloud.
Competitive shooter players have for years peeked around corners to try to get a jump on their opponents. But one method players are currently using in Valve’s Counter-Strike 2 is just criminal.
Counter-Strike 2 seems to have got off to a solid start, but a few weeks after launch Valve has announced some big decisions. These will only affect a small number of players, but even so this is a real line in the sand that reflects the developer's ambition to develop this game for a decade or more.
It might sound like reading the back of a bottle of Loctite and give you a sticky feeling, but this new visual novel from Ratalaika games about building a bond between two female students while seeking the love of your life, is out now and available for only $9.99.
Update: 02/10/2023: Subsequent to publication, the ban on St4ck's account has been lifted.
When we brought you news of Lamplighters League heading to Xbox, we knew it would be dropping in a busy October, but turn-based strategy fans can now dive in, with the game available on Xbox and also Included in Gamepass.
Valve has launched its revamp of Counter-Strike, which it calls Counter-Strike 2.
Valve has launched Counter-Strike 2, marking the start of a new era for the competitive tactical first person shooter. The game is now available as a free-to-play game via Steam, a free upgrade and full replacement to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – CS:GO is no longer playable.
Counter-Strike 2 is now available for PC via Steam as a free-to-play title, Valve announced.
It finally happened — Counter-Strike 2 has officially released on PC after a week of hints and teasers, which have probably left fans wholly unsurprised about this whole thing.
Look alive, jarheads! Grab your Glocks and drop your - well, whatever you're holding that isn't a gun, unless it's a kitten or something, in which case tuck it gently under your arm and brace yourself for the news that Valve have finally released the public version of Counter-Strike 2, the long-awaited free technical upgrade (and replacement) for perennial Steam chart-topper Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, after six months in limited access. You can download it here.
It’s that time of the year. The weather is getting colder. It gets darker quicker. You want to have a cosy evening in, and what a better way to spend it than with a good old murder investigation?