After multiple years of tech demos, small side projects, and VR system sellers, Valve is finally releasing a sequel to one of its acclaimed games.Counter-Strike 2is on the way after a 13-year wait, and the community has cause to be excited. This release will mark first sequel from the company since 2011, and it could be great news for fans of Valve’s other dormant franchises.
The release ofCounter-Strike 2may be simply to capitalize on the popularity of shooters, or it could be a sign of things to come. Valve has a long history of iconic franchises that fans have been waiting years to see revived. It seemed like the studio had little interest in continuing these IPs outside smaller spin-off projects, but that now changed. This overhaul toCounter-Strike: Global Offensivemight mean that sequels are back on the menu, and hopefully it kickstarts a new era for the company.
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It is Time for Valve’s Gaming Comeback
Valve is behind some of the most iconic PC games around, and was releasing games pretty consistently until 2013.Games likeLeft 4 Dead, Portal, Team Fortress 2, Half-Life 2,andCounter-Strike: Global Offensivewere all hugely popular when they came out. These titles helped the studio quickly amass a massive fanbase, and cement it as an integral part of the gaming industry. Many of these titles are still talked about today, and have often been cited as some of the greatest games ever made. However, the rise of Steam made the entire trajectory of the company change.
Valve launched Steam in 2003 as a simple storefront for the company, but everything changed when it started opening it up to the masses in 2005. The service quickly exploded in popularity, and became the largest digital distribution platform for PC gaming. It seems unstoppable, and its success shifted Valve’s attention from games to growing the platform. Not only has it maintained and consistently updated it, but it also launched multiple different pieces ofSteam hardware. Valve quickly became the Steam company, and its games became a part of gaming history.
Since 2013’sDota 2, Valve has only really released tech demos and smaller side projects for some of its franchises.2016’sThe Labserved as a compilation of minigames in thePortaluniverse to showcase the HTC Vive capabilities, while 2022’sAperture Desk Jobserved as a tech demo for the Steam Deck.ArtifactandDota Underlordswere smaller side projects set withinDota 2that tried to capitalize on digital card games and auto chess. EvenHalf-Life: Alyxwas created to sell VR headsets.
Fans have beencalling forHalf-Life 3,Portal 3, andLeft 4 Dead 3for years now, but Valve has not delivered on any of that. Each of these titles would likely be very successful if they ever saw the light of day as their predecessors have become PC gaming classics. It seems like a strange choice not to capitalize on these franchises, but the success of Steam has given the studio little reason to spend the resources. However, that will hopefully change withCounter-Strike 2.
Counter-Strike 2may technically be an update toCS:GO, but it’s the closest thing to a sequel since 2011’sPortal 2. This is a massive change in direction for the company, and although it does not disprove the Valve cannot count to three memes, it is still surprising to see. If the studio can keep something like this under wraps then there is no telling what elseValve has in store. Hopefully, the release of this long-awaited content will lead the way for even more sequels from the studio.
Counter-Strike 2will be released in the summer of 2023 for PC.
