Valve has officially announced Counter-Strike 2 and is set to release in Summer 2023 as a free upgrade for players that have Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

The game is touted by Valve to be the “largest technical leap” in the history of the game, and will have features and updates for years to come. That said, a limited test is now ongoing, with a full FAQ page published for any inquiries about it.

As an upgrade, the full inventory of players from CS:GO will be brought over to Counter-Strike 2 and will all benefit from the updated lighting and materials of the new game.

The new features of Counter-Strike 2 revolve around a few key points, the first of which are the improvements to the world, which will see a full overhaul of maps, upgraded lighting and overall visuals, high-definition visual effects, and much more accurate audio.

Counter-Strike 2 will also feature responsive smokes, which are now volumetric objects that “interact with the environment, and react to lighting, gunfire, and explosions.”

One other key feature of the game is how Tick rate no longer matters for moving, shooting, or throwing.

More details about the game will be released in the months to come.