The thought crossed my mind, too: I couldn't participate in the limited test of Counter-Strike 2, but why not jump into CS:GO for a few nights to get more play time and see if Valve's light shines on me?" As Valve detailed (in a new tab) last week on Twitter As Valve detailed on Twitter last week (open in new tab), Counter-Strike 2 testers were selected based on a variety of factors, including "recent play time on official Valve servers, trust level, and Steam account status."

Valve's definition of "recent" play time has clear limitations, and the official Counter-Strike Twitter page broke the news today for returning CS:GO players who wish them luck:

"Official CS:GO Idling on matchmaking servers will not increase your chances of participating in the CS2 Limited Test. The playing time that counts is the playing time before the Limited Test starts."

In other words, if you haven't joined yet, don't worry about it.

Tough but fair, Valve is looking for the most dedicated and most hardcore CS veterans to test Counter-Strike 2. I have played only 70 hours on CS:GO and most of that was in 2013. Since I last won a CS:GO skin, people have spawned and raised a 4th grader. If you had 10x my playing time, you might have been disqualified for other reasons. Or you may have just had bad luck.

If it makes you feel any better, there doesn't seem to be much we're missing: Counter-Strike 2 is going to be almost exactly the same game as CS:GO. It's a pseudo-sequel to the live-service game, similar to Overwatch 2, but instead of new heroes and maps, CS2's standout features are smokier smoke grenades, better servers, and backwards skin compatibility. Also, there is currently only one map (you guessed it, Dust 2).

All of these are minor things, but if you've played enough CS:GO to be tapped by Valve for this test, they must feel like big things.

Still, that doesn't change my desire to join this exclusive club. Senior editor and veteran Counter-Striker Rich Stanton managed to get in, so check back here this week for hands-on impressions of CS2.