Counter-strike News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

From Software's Elden Ring is back in the Steam Top Ten.

Supergiant's first sequel, Hades 2, was the second biggest seller on Steam last week.

Everyone who has played a Pokemon game knows that the most powerful ball is the legendary Master Ball. Most games only provide you with one of these overpowered items that lets you catch any Pokemon you want without a fight, but Pokemon GO didn’t include them at all for many years. That all changed in 2023 when they were introduced as part of a special event and finally gave trainers the chance to add one to their bags. If you log in today looking to get one for yourself to have ready for when you find that elusive Pokemon you’ve been struggling to catch, you won’t see any signs of how to get one. Like any good professor, we will instruct you on all the things you need to know about getting a Master Ball in Pokemon GO.

Unless you’re a lefty, you may not notice that every shooter, including Counter-Strike 2, always has you playing as a right-handed character. While it may not seem like a big deal, it just feels awkward for people who primarily use their left hands to get used to seeing games that way, especially when previous versions of this game allowed you to play as a southpaw. And, if you’re playing at the highest level, swapping hands can make peaking corners much easier. While it was missing for almost the first year of the game, Counter -trike 2 has finally allowed players to swap hands and play however is more natural and comfortable for them. Here is how to set your preferred handedness in Counter-Strike 2 and swap it on the fly.

There's no denying that Counter-Strike 2 is one of the most hardcore and competitive FPS games on PC. One wrong move in this game can force you to wait out the rest of the round and leave your team a player down.

Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto 5 and a trio of Call of Duty titles were consistently the most played games across consoles in the US last month.

Medieval strategy game Manor Lords has started life at second place on Steam.

Valve has released a brand-new Counter-Strike 2 update, bringing a host of important changes as well as the inclusion of the long-awaited left-hand viewmodel. This feature was previously featured in CS:GO, and it has finally made its way to Counter-Strike 2.

Amazon's Fallout TV show has helped the commercial performance of the franchise's two most recent entries.

The launch of the new Anomaly content has helped Rimworld return to the Top Ten in fifth place.

Co-op horror title Content Warning was the fifth biggest seller on Steam last week.

Capcom's Dragon's Dogma 2 fell from the No.2 spot to sixth in its second week on sale.

The eagerly-awaited sequel to Capcom's Dragon's Dogma was the second best-selling title on Steam in its first week on sale.

Valve's online shooter Counter-Strike 2 has reclaimed the top spot on Steam.

Co-op sci-fi shooter Helldivers 2 was the biggest-selling title on Steam last week once more.

Arrowhead Studios' wildly popular Helldivers 2 has spent a second week at the No.1 spot on Steam.

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios has said it will be releasing updates on PS5 and PC this week that aim to tackle the "most serious problems" the game is currently facing, including login, matchmaking, and server load. The first of these fixes will arrive tomorrow, February 20, but Arrowhead wants us to remember that "no single update will solve all the issues."

Helldivers 2 is off to a great start as it has already passed the all-time Steam concurrents of games like Destiny 2 and Starfield alongside being a PlayStation console exclusive. However, developer Arrowhead Game Studios has said those massive amounts of players are causing server capacity issues it is working "without delay" to fix.

Almost a month afterPalworld’s successful early-access launch, Pocketpair community manager ‘Bucky’ has been reflecting on his expectations for the game prior to its launch, and revealed that in May last year, reaching anything above 50,000 players seemed impossible. 

A Counter-Strike 2 pro is being hailed for delivering one of the greatest esports performances of all time, despite having only played in one major tournament and being just 17 years old.

The newly-released Helldivers 2 was the biggest selling title on Steam last week.

The creator of one of Counter-Strike's most popular maps has a serious case of seller's remorse.

Pocket monster romp Palworld was once again the biggest-selling title on Steam last week.

A unique Counter-Strike 2 weapon skin that apparently eluded gamers for around a decade has finally appeared online, and it could be worth up to $1 million. The skin is so rare that acquiring it through a loot box or trade has been considered a statistical anomaly.

A huge security exploit has been discovered in Counter-Strike 2, allowing malicious users to obtain the IP addresses of entire lobbies.

Many of you will be aware that Left 4 Dead began as a mod for Counter-Strike called “Terror Strike.” However, it looks as though Valve accidentally released an early version of the former via an update of the latter.

Valve accidentally released an "extremely early" Left 4 Dead prototype in Counter-Strike's new 1.6 update.

An «extremely early» Left 4 Dead prototype is now available to play thanks to Counter-Strike's 1.6 update.

Valve didn't just update Half-Life for the game's recent 25th anniversary. It also spruced up Counter-Strike 1.6 to take advantage of the features and changes added to Valve's 1998 masterpiece. Yet in doing so, Valve seemingly inadvertently opened the door to a fascinating slice of gaming history – the first prototype of Left 4 Dead.

If you're a big fan of Valve's work, chances are you'll know that one of its most popular and beloved titles, Left 4 Dead, started out as nothing but a mod for Counter-Strike. Original developers Turtle Rock created a mod called 'Zombie City' for the shooter, which is possibly the earliest prototype of Left 4 Dead that we currently know of. Earlier today, Valve seems to have accidentally left it in a recent update for Counter-Strike 1.6.

Left 4 Dead's co-lead, Chet Faliszek, reminisces about the early days of the co-op PvE (player vs. environment) zombie shooter and what it took to finally get it off the ground. 

Chet Faliszek, the lead on Left 4 Dead—who is now making his own retro sci-fi version called The Anacrusis—says that Gabe Newell had some pretty strong opinions on the game during its troubled development.

Players will be able to buy and sell skins sometime in 2024.

It used to be the case that comparisons between Rainbow Six Siege and Counter-Strike ended at their 5v5 team sizes and bomb rulesets, but Ubisoft is cooking up its own version of a feature that's become synonymous with Valve's tactical FPS: the skin marketplace.

Counter-Strike 2 now allows for players to use custom maps in their games. As part of a new update, the Maps workshop is now live, allowing community map makers to upload their custom maps for Counter-Strike 2.

Counter-Strike 2 has received a much-needed update with the arrival of custom maps.

Over a month since the game's release, community maps finally return to Counter-Strike with the launch of the newly revamped maps workshop.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a FLASHBANG COMING RIGHT AT YOUR FACE - QUICK, LOOK AWAY oh wait it's just a bird after all. That's not just me hallucinating after one too many cups of Joe - it's a description of recent events in Valve's bomb-fiddling FPS Counter-Strike 2, where players keep mistaking the avian decorations on certain maps for bouncing balls of death.

Counter-Strike 2, the first direct sequel to one of the most important games in PC history, released on September 27 after roughly six months in a limited test period. PC Gamer recently had the chance to ask the Counter-Strike 2 development team at Valve wide-ranging questions about the game, and one of those was about the modes CS2 doesn't have.

Counter-Strike 2, the first direct sequel to one of the most important games in PC history, released on September 27 after roughly six months in a limited test period. PC Gamer recently had the chance to ask the Counter-Strike 2 development team at Valve a wide-ranging bunch of questions about the game, its history, and its future: and one of those was about the in-game hardware. Does Valve have plans to introduce new weapons over the game's lifespan?

Counter-Strike 2 players are being banned for moving their mouse too quickly.

The multiplayer-defining perks and unlocks of the best Call of Duty games were originally seen as a parallel to Fallout, and they helped define the progression system that ultimately convinced the series' developers to stop trying to beat Counter-Strike at its own game.

Just days after Valve started reversing bans for those who used AMD's Anti-Lag+ feature in Counter-Strike 2, players have discovered a reproducible method for triggering a VAC ban on your account: moving your mouse very, very fast.

On October 28, 2023, the Call of Duty series will be 20 years old. While it's now one of the most impressive and well-resourced development projects on the planet, with three core studios (as well as support studios) dedicated to keeping its annual release cycle spinning, the foundations for its success were laid by Infinity Ward which, after developing the first two games in the franchise, was given the time to make something really special, and produced what is still the series' defining entry with 2007's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

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Valve has confirmed that it will shortly begin «reversing» VAC bans for Counter-Strike 2 players who were banned from the game for using AMD’s Anti-Lag+ feature.

In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, you could flip the view model of your weapon by typing 'cl_righthand 0' into the console, letting you play left-handed. However, when CS2 shadow dropped, the command was removed entirely, leaving left-handed players stuck with a right-handed view.

As reported a few days ago, Counter-Strike 2 players using Radeon Anti-Lag+ technology in the latest GPU drivers were finding that it didn't help matters at all. In fact, it resulted in accounts being banned as Valve's anti-cheat system didn't like the latency reduction system. AMD's response to the whole problem? Yank the drivers off the download page.

If you’re playing Counter-Strike 2 on a rig with AMD’s latest graphics driver you could accidentally get yourself banned from the game.

By Wes Davis, a weekend editor who covers the latest in tech and entertainment. He has written news, reviews, and more as a tech journalist since 2020.

Some Counter-Strike 2 players are receiving VAC bans after installing the latest AMD driver update, and Valve says the culprit is an anti-lag feature. Driver update 23.10.1, released earlier this week, fixed stuttering and crash issues with CS2, and added driver support for Assassin's Creed Mirage, Forza Motorsport, and The Lords of the Fallen. It also added CS2 support for Anti-Lag+, AMD's Nvidia Reflex-equivalent tech that lowers input latency.

If you're a Counter-Strike 2 player with an AMD GPU, pay attention: Valve has warned that the company's latest GPU driver has introduced a new feature that, if activated, will result in a Steam VAC ban. So, basically, proceed with caution.

«Release notes for today are up» began the fairly typical message from the Counter-Strike 2 dev team, before things take a turn: «Shamone.» The world's greatest competitive shooter has in recent days been delighting players with a bug that has been christened the «Smooth Criminal», after Michael Jackson's dance moves that accompany the song of the same name, and feature exaggerated leaning postures. In-game players have been strafing and, thanks to this glitch, would sometimes appear to glide with the top half of their body leaning out in an odd manner: no doubt a thriller for them, but plain bad and dangerous for those on the receiving end.

Counter-Strike 2 built up an unbelievable amount of excitement for itself prior to its recent launch. Fans have waited years for Valve’s new shooter after exhausting hundreds and thousands (maybe even hundreds OF thousands) of hours in CSGO. Now that CS2 is finally here and open to all players, the developer has been releasing steady updates to address bugs, tackle other issues, and implement features. The most recent update fixes what could be one of the funniest bugs ever, much to our dismay.

Valve has announced that it will be discontinuing Counter-Strike 2support on older hardware and Mac so it can focus on 64-bit Windows and Linux.

Going forward, Valve says Counter-Strike 2 will only be playable on hardware that supports Linux and 64-bit Windows. The developer revealed support for Mac and older hardware like DirectX has been discontinued. 

Valve, the renowned game developer, has recently made a significant decision regarding one of their flagship titles, Counter-Strike 2. In a move that reflects the ever-evolving landscape of gaming technology, Valve has officially dropped support for Mac and older PCs. The future of Counter-Strike 2 lies exclusively with 64-bit Windows and Linux operating systems.

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 players have discovered a novel method of peek-shooting, the Michael Jackson Peek, which makes them look like the King of Pop, doing one of his slip-slidey dance moves. You might say there's been an outbreak of Smooth Crime, hee heeee! Sorry, I wish I were cool enough to explain this properly. It's probably best you just watch the footage below.

Counter-Strike 2 bugs and exploits are a regular source of comedy. In CSGO, I watched players deflect bullets by suddenly dropping their gun, so the shot would hit the rifle instead of their head. And I remember fondly some of the best trick kills, like players with one HP getting dinged in the face by a smoke grenade, and ragdolling to the ground. But a new CS2 bug is so extreme it’s prompted a response, of sorts, from Valve itself. As CSGO becomes once again available on Steam, Counter-Strike 2 might have its first legitimate meme.

We need to do some kind of wellness check on the Team Fortress 2 community. Sure, the game might have gotten a big summer update and smashed its all-time concurrent player record in the last year, but it's hardly the apple of Valve's eye in 2023. Players of the venerable shooter were left to gaze forlornly over at Counter-Strike 2 when that game was announced back in March, wondering if TF2 might get similar treatment «in another decade».

Valve has ended Counter-Strike 2 support for Mac and older PC hardware.

Players looking forward to enjoying a few rounds of on macOS or an older Windows PC will soon be out of luck, as Valve announces that support for both platforms will be dropped moving forward. The announcement comes just weeks after the launch of Valve’s long-awaited shooter sequel on the developer and publisher’s wildly successful Steam platform.

Since its release back in September, Counter-Strike 2 has gone on to become one of the rare titles for developer Valve where the critical reception doesn’t match expectations. At the time of publishing, the game currently sits at an aggregate of mixed user reviews on Steam.

Counter-Strike 2 has been out for a few weeks, which means players have had ample time to find exploits. The latest of which is... Michael Jackson leaning. Around corners. To peek enemies. It sounds ridiculous, but it's a big problem.

After years of hope, Valve finally released Counter-Strike 2 towards the end of September. The game – which sees it replacing CS:GO – exploded in popularity overnight. However, for those on older systems, the updated version of the iconic FPS will no longer be supported.

Counter-Strike 2 has enormous boots to fill, and it’s still early days. As the successor to the most popular multiplayer shooter of all time, Valve’s new FPS naturally needs a little time to settle and ease in. CS2 could be better than CSGO, but perhaps, less than a month after launch, we’re not there yet. At the same time, Counter-Strike players have been understandably frustrated about CSGO being – seemingly – removed from the internet forever. But actually, that’s not the case. If you’re not a fan of Counter-Strike 2, or maybe want to give it a bit more time before making the transition, you can still play CSGO on Steam.

Valve has released a new statement revealing its plans for Counter-Strike 2 moving forward. The studio has revealed that, owing to the technological needs of the recently-released titles, the game will only support 64-bit Windows and Linux.

Are you a Mac player who's been hungrily looking forward to the eventual Mac port of Counter-Strike 2, released last month, after sinking many hours and much pocket money into the preceding Counter-Strike: Global Offensive? Fantastic news, it's been binned off! In the course of making what they're calling "the largest technical leap in CS history", Valve have decided to discontinue support for MacOS. They're also doing away with support for older PCs, including DirectX 9 and 32-bit operating systems - in future, the game will be exclusive to 64-bit Windows and Linux systems.

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.

Valve has achieved something remarkable with Counter-Strike 2, and has done it almost under-the-radar. The developer has managed to transition one of the largest and most change-averse competitive playerbases around from CS:GO to CS2 without any significant pushback, large-scale complaining, or splitting that playerbase. OK sure, it did rather brutally disappear CS:GO when the time came (and the recent 'mixed' reviews are mainly complaining about that), but the fact remains CS2 is out, it's great, and the vast majority of CS:GO players have moved onto it without a peep.

Mere weeks after release, Counter-Strike 2 is now the worst rated game that Valve has ever released. What has happened?

Based on recent Counter-Strike 2 Steam reviews, the much-anticipated sequel to CSGO has a lower rating than any other Valve game, including Half-Life, Half-Life 2 and its episodes, Portal, Dota 2, and Left 4 Dead. Counter-Strike 2 players cite issues with missing game modes, CS2 cheaters, and the total removal of Counter-Strike Global Offensive. The drop in Counter-Strike 2’s Steam rating arrives alongside a new CS2 update, which aims to address recurring problems with hitboxes and detection.

Counter-Strike 2 games can go on for a while, so there’s nothing quite as frustrating as losing a game you had in the bag for reasons outside your control. We’ve all been there; you’re pretty sure you’ve got the other team beat but one person on your team suddenly drops. You’re already close to victory, though, and the four of you can probably close it out – but one of your teammates decides otherwise, and forces a surrender vote through by themselves. No more, however, thanks to the latest set of CS2 patch notes.

Magnar Jenssen is a level designer with serious pedigree, starting his career at Grin before stints at Starbreeze, Avalanche, and then from 2013 onwards working for Valve. This was an auspicious year for Counter Strike: Global Offensive, with the Winter Offensive update in December 2013 adding two new maps to the game, Cobblestone and Overpass.

In the months following the announcement of Counter-Strike 2in March, the average number of active Global Offensive players grew by nearly 30%. That number is still holding, as the new edition has completely revitalized the game, adding some sheen to a shooter that was beginning to tarnish. It has re-entered the zeitgeist and asserted itself in a genre that’s been co-opted by battle royales and extraction shooters. Counter-Strike is back, baby.

Update: 02/10/2023: Subsequent to publication, the ban on St4ck's account has been lifted. 

New World's first expansion arrived yesterday, and along with the addition of flails, the ability to turn into some kind of vengeful nature monster, a transformed zone and another expedition, it also solves one of my big launch bugbears: it's finally added mounts. 

Fans of the original (CS:GO) will be happy to learn that you can get the soundtrack of the iconic FPS in its sequel, , through a special music kit. This collection contains five nostalgic themes from the game with an extremely dedicated audience. Those looking to recapture the sounds behind their greatest moments from are able to equip this kit to change the sounds of a match.

New World is back, at least for now. The once-fallen MMO is again climbing the Steam charts, as Amazon’s first expansion, New World: Rise of the Angry Earth, releases on Steam. With doubled concurrent player count numbers and both the base game and its DLC climbing up the Steam charts, even pushing ahead of Valve’s own Counter-Strike 2 in some regions, it’s a promising early jolt to life.