Valve has announced Counter-Strike 2, the latest version of its best and most popular competitive FPS ever. The developer says, "Counter-Strike 2 overhauls every system, every piece of content, and every part of the C-S experience."

Accompanying this announcement is a series of videos explaining how Counter-Strike 2 changes everything. There are currently three, which explain smoke, over tick rate, and map changes.

For the idea of exceeding the tick rate, there is an official explanation.

"Sub-tick updates are the heart of Counter-Strike 2. Previously, servers would only evaluate worlds at discrete time intervals (called ticks). Thanks to Counter-Strike 2's sub-tick update architecture, the server knows the exact moment when a motion is initiated, a shot is fired, or a nade is thrown. As a result, regardless of the tick rate, movement and shooting react the same way, and grenades always land the same way.

The game will undergo limited testing, which can be found here (opens in a new tab).

"Counter-Strike 2 is the biggest technological leap in Counter-Strike history and guarantees new features and updates for years to come. While all of the game's new features will be revealed when the game officially launches this summer, the journey to Counter-Strike 2 begins today with a limited test for select CS:GO players. During this testing period, we will evaluate some of the features to remove any issues before the worldwide release."

Amazingly, Counter-Strike 2 will be upgraded to CS: GO for free. This was always going to be huge, but keeping the free-to-play model ensures that it will be very popular at launch and for years to come. Even more amazingly, everything will carry over:

"You can bring your entire CS:GO inventory into Counter-Strike 2. Not only will all the items you've collected over the years still be available, but everything will benefit from Source 2's lighting and materials. In addition to legacy model and finish support, all stock weapons have been upgraded with high-resolution models, and several weapon finishes utilize these new models.

"Counter-Strike 2" limited testing is currently underway (see FAQ here (opens in new tab)). For now: it's real, it's (mostly) here, and it's beautiful. The past of the competitive FPS is back as the future.