New Counter-Strike 2 system requirements eliminate a number of players
After almost two weeks since the launch of the long-awaited upgrade of the CS:GO shooter in the form of Counter-Strike 2, news arrives that now eliminates a number of players due to the game's new system requirements. Valve has decided to end support for older systems, including DirectX 9 and 32-bit operating systems, as well as for macOS.
Support for Windows and Linux operating systems remains, and the game will now require 64-bit processors. Valve justifies this decision “the biggest technical leap in the history of CS” and technological progress, and the company's goal, as it claims, is to continue developing the game in the years to come.
Ending support for Apple fans may seem like a rather stubborn decision, but the company explains that they represent less than one percent of active CS:GO players.
Support for exclusively 64-bit Windows and Linux also comes down to compatibility with the Steam Deck platform. Those who won't be able to run Counter-Strike 2 in the future will now have access to what the company calls the “legacy version” of CS:GO, a version that will be supported until January 1, 2024. Players who have recently purchased Prime status that unlocks certain features of the game, Valve says they can apply for a refund if their purchase falls between March 22 and September 27 of this year. Refunds will be an option no later than December 1 of this year.
However, orders with bans are not eligible for a refund.
SteamWhen it comes to CS:GO legacy, the company describes it as a frozen version of the game that has all CS:GO features except official link support. Once Valve stops supporting this version in January, the game will still be available, but certain features like inventory access may degrade or simply not work.
Perhaps an unexpected step for some, but ever since Valve announced Counter-Strike 2, it has become clear that CS:GO is slowly retiring. Counter-Strike 2 arrived upgraded and completely free in a relatively stable state with some reported bugs such as the wrong side-spinning of the knife, but for now it looks like it will be a good successor to CS:GO.
However, although the new game currently has an overall positive rating on the Steam platform, we should not forget that millions of positive reviews were carried over from the CS:GO version, which Valve simply replaced with a new one. However, there is still plenty of time for both negative and positive reviews, given that the game was released less than two weeks ago.