In the Counter-Strike Global Offensive ecosystem, rumors abound that a decade-old FPS will be ported to Source 2, Valve's current in-house engine: In the Global Offensive ecosystem, rumors abound that a decade-old FPS will be ported to Source 2, Valve's current in-house In the Global Offensive ecosystem, there are rumors that a decade-old FPS is being ported to Valve's current in-house engine, Source 2. Over the past week, the speculation and whispers have picked up steam, with many convinced that perhaps a "new" version of the iconic PC game is in the works.

CS:GO is built on Valve's old Source engine, and what the upgrade to Source 2 will actually look like is a matter of debate, with the prospect of a reimagined game following Counter-Strike's long history being re-released in a new form Some are giddy at the prospect, while others are more pessimistic, predicting that the final Source 2 version will be little more than a minor visual upgrade, perhaps to the official 128 Tic server that players have long been waiting for.

Last week, a leak buried in Nvidia's latest drivers (opens in new tab) not only reignited speculation about a Source 2 version of CS:GO, but several prominent community members and esports celebrity Richard Lewis to join in and keep the leak on track. First, data miner Aquarius discovered a pair of config profiles added to the latest Nvidia graphics driver, both called "Counter-Strike 2," and two executables called "cs2.exe" and "csgos2.exe" The files were.

I checked the files and they are there, so at least this is real. There are also references to it elsewhere in other Nvidia software like GeForce Experience, but perhaps the most suggestive tidbit is that whatever this is, it uses the same Steam app ID as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 730. Don't expect it to be a complete sequel.

And Megaton; Valve updated the banner image on the CS:GO Twitter (opens in new tab) to simply say "Counter-Strike." It then quickly updated the image again, this time to the classic CS silhouette of a CT holding a weapon. Then we updated it again, this time back to the "Counter-Strike" text, but with the tagline "Big fans of #TheNightShift" (a little joke in the community that the CS: GO account had made earlier (opens in new tab)) The catchphrase "I know, I know: source 2" was added. I know, I know: check source 2.

Not content with this, one CS:GO-er ran the logo image through various filters and... It turns out that there is dirt in the background, and in a clear sign that someone at Valve sees this as more than a little amusing, the CS:GO Twitter banner has been updated again, this time to the Counter-Strike logo with the words "Banner. Nothing more. I promise."

Excellent Counter-Strike YouTuber 3kliksPhilip has a video that briefly nails the mindset that this is welcomed by the community and explains the various possibilities of what is actually happening.

Then there is a report by journalist Richard Lewis, who has a great track record in esports scoops, although he has been controversial in the past and cannot back up Lewis' claims, but his full report is here (opens in a new tab):

The source explained that "the development of this game was something of a priority for the Valve team. This, they say, explains why some issues with CS:GO have been largely unaddressed for some time." The big priority is to release this, fix the bugs, and polish it to the level people expect from CS.

According to the report, the game will use Source 2, will have 128tick servers at beta launch, and the matchmaking system will be overhauled. And he is not alone in believing that Valve is secretly testing CS:GO Source 2 and is ready to roll it out to a wider audience.

More concerning are other signs that the stars are aligning, such as the creation of the official CS:GO Tiktok account (opens in new tab) (which has so far attracted 28,000 followers despite not posting anything). Interestingly, when data miner Aquarius noticed the Nvidia thing and commented on the account, the official CS:GO Twitter replied with the latest activity: 'Hide the Pain Harold' (open in new tab) Meme.

For some in the Counter-Strike community, and Lord knows I'm one of them, this is overkill: theories about a Source 2 version of CS:GO have become a white whale, and everyone knows that pursuing it is ultimately folly: still the dream is. To see Dust 2 with overhauled textures and physics, to see grenades touch Mirage in a new way, to rush A long once more: but better looking than ever.

What's next for Counter-Strike remains to be seen, but if there's smoke where there's fire, something's up: we've contacted Valve, but, shocking as it may be, we haven't heard back. But we all know by now how Valve operates. If Counter-Strike Source 2 is going to be released, and it looks like it will be, expect it to be released without fanfare on a rainy Thursday morning at 3:00 a.m. "I'm not sure how long it will take for the game to be released, but I'm sure it will be released without fanfare on a rainy Thursday morning.