For over two decades, Counter-Strike has offered an elite competitive experience, one shaped by millions of players from across the globe. And now the next chapter in the CS story is about to begin. This is Counter-Strike 2. A free upgrade to CS:GO, Counter-Strike 2 marks the largest technical leap in Counter-Strike’s history. Built on the Source 2 engine, Counter-Strike 2 is modernized with realistic physically-based rendering, state of the art networking, and upgraded Community Workshop tools.
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 on Steam, so we don't have official 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.