A dataminer has found new information on Counter-Strike 2 that could mean huge changes to the game – and for your Counter-Strike Global Offensive cosmetics.
As reported by Dexerto, a dataminer named ZooL found modeled bullets in some of the guns in Counter-Strike 2’s code.
On its own, that already sounds like a considerable change. Valve did not use modeled bullets in previous Counter-Strike. What this immediately suggests is that Valve will be using new animations for weapons in the new game.
Seeing as Counter-Strike does not have story campaigns, and it does not distinguish itself with setpieces, Valve will have to find ways to improve the game that aren’t as readily apparent. Weapon animations don’t sound like much, but those animations repeat themselves in Counter-Strike games many hundreds of times when just one person spends a few hours playing the game, and that’s just for one weekend.
So the improvements to Counter-Strike, will definitely have to go farther than game design or its online multiplayer systems.
Valve will have to make a serious visual overhaul for Counter-Strike 2 to match it up with the raised expectations fans have thanks to newer PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S games. Valve can’t just make Counter-Strike with simplified Fortnite-like aesthetics. If Valve has been diligent at updating their Source 2 engine, it should be up to the task.
ZooL also suggests that Valve could be working on translucent skins. The point of this would be so that players would be able to see how many bullets they have left.
Such an improvement would be more than visual flair for the game. Some people are definitely going to be playing Counter-Strike 2 on 4K and even 8K screens. Valve will have to raise their standards so that when those players see bullets flying, they will see them in a way that is graphically impressive, but is also practical enough for the purposes of competitive play.
But of course, there is a flip side to these changes. That would be that it’s highly likely Valve is just going to drop the entire system of skins and cosmetics on Counter-Strike Global Offensive.
Are Counter-Strike Global Offensive ready to let go of their giant cosmetic collections? It may be an inevitability, even if Valve acts in good faith.
I could see Valve continuing to support Counter-Strike . Global Offensive after Counter-Strike 2’s release, even maintaining its esports scene. However, if Counter-Strike 2 takes over the franchise and its esports, and that would seem to be an inevitability, the players themselves will have to abandon Counter-Strike Global Offensive, and their cosmetics with it.
It may be a hard pill to swallow, but the investment needed to recreate Counter-Strike Global Offensive’s cosmetics in Counter-Strike 2 wouldn’t be worthwhile, especially if Valve are making new graphics and animations. Maybe Valve can do something like reimburse players with store credit between the two games. We’ll see where Counter-Strike 2 goes within the year.
