Counter-Strike 2 is a free-to-play multiplayer tactical first-person shooter developed and published by Valve. Released in September 2023, it is the fifth main entry in the Counter-Strike series and serves as a direct replacement for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Steam. Two teams, Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists, compete in objective-based rounds across modes such as bomb defusal and hostage rescue. Built on the Source 2 engine, the game introduced volumetric smoke physics, revised weapon handling, and a new sub-tick server architecture. It inherited all cosmetic items from its predecessor and features both a map-specific Competitive mode and a numerically ranked Premier mode.
Best gaming PC for Counter-Strike 2 in 2026
Full buyers guide →Below are the four PC tiers we'd actually recommend for Counter-Strike 2 today. These are our 2026 hardware picks, not the dated publisher minimums you'll find on Steam.
Budget
1080p · 240fps
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 5 7600
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB
- RAM
- 16 GB
- Storage
- 1TB NVMe SSD
Mid-tier
1080p · 360fps
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super 12GB
- RAM
- 32 GB
- Storage
- 1TB NVMe SSD
High-end
1440p · 240fps
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB
- RAM
- 32 GB
- Storage
- 2TB NVMe SSD
Enthusiast
1440p · 540fps
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 16GB
- RAM
- 32 GB
- Storage
- 2TB NVMe SSD
Official system requirements
Counter-Strike 2 isn't sold on Steam, so we don't have Steam-published specs to display. Our 2026 hardware recommendations above are based on real-world performance testing and similar-title comparison.
Can your PC run Counter-Strike 2?
Check the manufacturer's launcher (Battle.net, Riot Client, Epic, etc.) for specific requirements — most live-service titles run well on a modern entry-level gaming PC.