A day after confirming and officially revealing Counter-Strike 2, Twitter user and dataminer aquaismissing has been sharing new details that hint at what to expect with the game.
First off, aquaismissing tweeted this a day ago:
“Since Source 2 supports iOS and Android, Counter-Strike 2 Mobile might actually be a real thing.”
aquaismissing shared code that had these lines:
/game_otherplatforms/etc” [$MOBILE || $ETC_TEXTURES]
/game_otherplatforms/low_bitrate” [$MOBILE]
aquaismissing also shared this line of code:
mobile_fps_increase_during_charging
All these lines hint at Counter-Strike 2 receiving a mobile port, and have also added features to accommodate a broader audience in that platform. This mobile version of Counter-Strike 2 will have low bitrate, and can increase the FPS if the device is charging.
If this rumor is true, it’s forward thinking for Valve, and an indication that they are serious about making Counter-Strike a top game again. Much like Blizzard has done with Diablo Immortal, Counter-Strike could tap the nostalgia of people who used to play the game as kids, ‘grew out’ of it, but would be willing to play again if it was as easy to access as being on their phones.
Thus far, Valve has only dipped their toes in the mobile space. Instead of porting DOTA itself, they made a mobile spinoff game called DOTA Underlords, an auto-battler. Valve also intended for their card game Artifact to go to mobile, but those plans were ultimately cancelled.
It also raises questions if the speculation going around that Valve is planning to launch their own third-party app store on mobile is true. Recent regulations will make the existence of these third-party app stores a real possibility.
aquaismissing also posted about code that indicates that Counter-Strike 2 will have a new anti-cheat measure in the works. This is what the code says:
“SFUI_match_vac_live_title” “Cheater Detected”
“SFUI_match_abort_match_vac_live” “This match has been cancelled by VAC Live.”
So what this code indicates is if a cheater is detected in the middle of a match, the entire match will be completely cancelled.
aquaismissing also acknowledged that there are other lines that has the words rematch. aquaismissing explained that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive did have a rematch feature, but it was removed in 2014. That code is old code, but aquaismissing claims it does not confirm that there will be a rematch feature for matches.
Valve understands, as unpopular as these features can be, that anti-cheat is paramount to making successful online games in 2023. While anti-cheat can potentially limit the reach of Counter-Strike 2¸it will also make the game safer and more suitable for esports.
Counter-Strike 2 is slated for release on Steam, presumably for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, this summer 2023.