How has the transition to the new version of СS 2 affected players, and will it affect eSports in general?

The new game has attracted new and returning players back into the game, and the esports scene for it looks bright. In this article, we'll discuss how the transition has affected its players and the scene.

Introduction To Counter-Strike: 2

Counter-Strike has been one of the world's most popular first-person shooter franchises. It has been around for over two decades, with the most recent version being Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. CSGO is known to be a highly competitive esport title, allowing the professional scene to thrive with multi-million dollar tournaments with spectators watching live.

On September 27, 2023, Valve finally released the newest version of Counter-Strike: 2. The new game would run on Valve's new and improved engine, the Source 2 engine. The Source 2 engine enhances CS2's graphics and lightning, enhancing the game's visuals.

But CS2 wasn't just released to improve visuals, as the game came with many new things. Smoke grenades are now volumetric; throwing grenades can break the smoke for a few seconds. Skyboxes have been removed from the game so players can throw grenades from anywhere on the map. And most importantly, CS2 will follow the MR12 format, meaning teams only need 13 rounds to win instead of 16.

These new additions to the game have gotten casual and professional players excited about the new game. The advanced mechanics add more depth to the game, allowing professional players to come up with new strategies. CS2 has seen an increase in new players, and the enhanced visuals would also improve the viewing experience of CS2 live scores, which benefits the esports scene greatly.

Player Experience And Adaptation

Overall, in terms of visuals, the player experience for casual players has been far better than CSGO. CS2 looks incredibly appealing, and the weapon skins have also looked more pleasant with the lighting updates.

The introduction of MR12 has also been a positive change for casual players, as matches end faster, making it less time-consuming for players to finish. Players can fit more matches into their sessions. The new grenade mechanics have also allowed casual and professional players to develop new grenade lineups and strategies with the new way smoke grenades work.

The main challenge for these players is adapting to these changes as quickly as possible. The MR12 format reduces the number of rounds, but there are still no changes to how the economy works. Players must change how they save and force buy since there are fewer rounds to work with. Professionals also need to adapt to the grenade changes and reevaluate their strategies or come up with new ones.

However, the movement and spraying in CS2 are noticeably different, and professional players aren't happy. Top players like s1mple have complained that the movement in CS2 feels rough and clunky, making it harder to shoot. There are also issues with peeker's advantage that professional players don't like. Hopefully, these issues can be fixed to ensure that CS2 is entirely esports-ready.

Esports Landscape

The esports scene in Counter-Strike: 2 looks bright. CSGO has already helped the Counter-Strike franchise build up a colossal professional scene, one of the most-watched ones in the industry. The release of CS2 will boost the already-popular CS esports scene by a mile.

First, the improved graphics and visuals will give the viewers a pleasant watching experience, which can help retain and bring in new viewers. Second, the new MR12 format makes CS2 matches end faster, making it less time-consuming for fans to watch. A big problem in CSGO was that professional matches lasted a long time, so viewers tended to get bored or did not have the time to watch an entire CS2 match.

The new MR12 format also gives teams less room to make mistakes. This makes matches more intense, so viewers who like to bet on these matches can feel the thrill that the players are experiencing.

The high potential of CS2 has also attracted lots of investments from professional teams and tournament organizers. Teams like Team Liquid and Falcons Esports are looking to make big-money investments to have prominent esports teams.

Regarding CS2 tournaments, the first CS2 tournament, IEM Sydney 2023, was a massive success. Players had a great time watching the matches and checking the CS stats live while the games were being played. Fans thoroughly enjoyed the tournament, and the MR12 system made the CS2 matches more intense.

Future Prospects

Regarding CS2's future, it looks bright. Casual players have given positive feedback regarding the MR12 format, making professional matches in the esports scene more watchable. Teams with less room for mistakes make CS2 matches more exciting to watch.

However, professional players want Valve to make some economic changes to the game because the money system still works similarly even though the round count has been reduced. It will take some time for Valve to figure out how to approach it, so we'll have to give them some time.

We can also expect many new or returning faces in the professional scene in the next few months. Professional players from rivaling esports games are looking to take a shot in CS2, and returning professionals like Stewie2K are already getting back into the grind.

The transition to the new game shouldn't be too hard on the esports scene, as tournament organizers and organizations already have decades of experience managing tournaments and teams.

The only issue at the moment is the "clunkiness" of the game. Valve needs to work on making CS2 gameplay smoother, as it is essential in a game where players must hit accurate shots. This may take some time to fix, but we can expect to see amazing Counter-Strike action once it is.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the release of CS2 has shaken up the esports scene. Many competitive players are looking to get into the game and try their luck. Though the new game still has some problems, like movement issues, the game has a high potential to outdo Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Overall, casual players are the biggest winners of the new game as CS2 matches become more watchable and enjoyable, benefitting the esports scene. Once Valve makes some adjustments and patches to fix the game, we are likely going to witness the greatest esports title emerge.