'Counter-Strike: Global Offensive' rumours: Is Valve preparing to port 'CS:GO' to the new game engine?

"Counter-Strike: Global Offensive" Source 2 rumors have been swirling around for a while now, with excited fans of the multiplayer first-person shooter developed by Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment eagerly anticipating It to get upgraded to the same engine behind "Half-Life: Alyx." Here's everything we know about the upgrade, including supposed CSGO references in the Source 2 files and the statement of a former Valve employee.

What is a Source 2 port of 'Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'?

Valve created the Source 2 game engine, which has been used since 2015, according to Win.gg. It is the replacement for Source, the gaming platform that powers "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive" as well as the games "Portal," "Left 4 Dead," and "Half-Life 2."

Games can be ported from one engine to another. An example of this is "Dota 2," which was originally released on the Source engine but was switched to Source 2 in 2015 with the Dota 2 Reborn update. Since then, "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive" fans have been anticipating a similar action for the tactical shooter, but it still hasn't occurred.

How can it change the 'Counter-Strike: Global Offensive' game?

Theoretically, Source 2 could improve the graphics and performance of "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive," but it could also significantly alter the basic gameplay. However, these supposed enhancements in performance and graphics aren't guaranteed, according to former Valve employee Richard Geldreich.

"[Valve] has lost a lot of their graphics talent. I suspect they'll just take the Source 1 stuff, copy and paste it, and throw some gloss on top," Geldreich explained why fans should not expect significant improvement immediately once the game is ported to Source 2.

It might take some time for Valve to fully take advantage of Source 2's prowess to enhance the game's performance. "The Source 2 codebase was a beast, and [Valve has] lost so much talent I doubt they can optimize it much," he added. "The Source 1 codebases were optimized by some really solid engineers over the years. But switching to more modern graphics APIs versus the now-ancient DirectX 9 may help."

Is Valve going to port 'Counter-Strike: Global Offensive' to Source 2?

It's almost certain that Valve is exploring the possibility of porting "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive" to Source 2. Whether it occurs anytime soon is a different story entirely, but when it does, things will unquestionably change drastically.

"Counter-Strike: Global Offensive" references were found in the Source 2 files in December 2021. Since then, there have been a number of further, comparable unreleased updates, ranging from a better crouch mechanic to functional vehicles.

"New CSGO source 2 related strings in the latest major dota 2 update," Twitter user Gabe Follower posted. "Also, they've added 'CSGO' mention to Source 2 Workshop Manager. It's not a drill."