Big Counter-Strike streamers and pro players have received beta to the latest instalment of Valve’s genre-defining FPS, but what if you’re a ‘normal’ player, how can you get CS2 early?
Update – September 1st
After Valve introduced the new MMR system for CS2 simply called CS Rating, they also noted that beginning today, eligible CS:GO players will receive more limited test invites. To be eligible for the new batch of CS2 beta invites, your account must have the following:
- Prime Status
- An active Competitive Skill Group
- Have played the majority of their official matchmaking games in one of the regions where the Limited Test is available.
For more details, check out Valve’s Twitter post below:
Today we are introducing CS Rating—a precise display of your skill in Counter-Strike 2. With regional and World Leaderboards you'll know exactly how you stack up.
Competitive mode in CS2 now features per-map Skill Groups, so players can master their favorite maps while learning… pic.twitter.com/LexHHv8P36
— CS2 (@CounterStrike) August 31, 2023
After showing off several fantastic Counter Strike 2 features in a series of YouTube videos on March 22, Valve shortly released a closed beta of CS2 for the top tier players and streamers, who got access to a single map, Dust 2. In the meantime, CS2 Beta participants have received updates that swapped the Dust 2 map with mirage, de_nuke, and cs_office.
How to get access to Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test
But the question remains, how can an average player, who’s not a professional Counter-Strike 2 pro player or a well-known streamer, get their hands on Counter-Strike 2 early? Luckily for us, Valve has made an FAQ page, instructing us on how to get our hands on CS2 early.
“How do I gain access to the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test?
Players are selected based on a number of factors deemed important by the Counter-Strike 2 development team, including (but not limited to) recent playtime on Valve official servers, trust factor, and Steam account standing.”
So, taken straight from the horse’s mouth, the only way of getting early access to CS2’s “Limited Test” or beta is to:
- have some recent hours in CS:GO (official servers)
- have a high CS:GO trust factor
- have good Steam account standing (no past VAC bans, you can check that here).
Then, and only then, you can hope to receive access to CS2 Limited Test by entering the main menu of CS:GO and receiving this message:
As you can imagine, a lot of players have gone ahead and idled on CS:GO’s official servers hoping for an invitation. Valve cleared the air and stated that the playtime hours should have gone before CS2’s official announcement.
PSA: Idling on official matchmaking servers in CS:GO does not increase your chances of making into the CS2 Limited Test. The playtime that counts was your playtime prior to the start of the Limited Test.
— CS2 (@CounterStrike) March 27, 2023
Where to get a Counter-Strike 2 cd key
Valve has also warned players on their official Twitter account to be wary of sites and people advertising they sell, or giveaway Counter-Strike 2 keys as they are scams. As mentioned above, the only way of receiving a CS2 Limited Test invitation is via your CS:GO main menu.
Beware of scams. The only way to check for Limited Test access is to launch CS:GO through Steam and check the Main Menu.
Do not log into third party sites claiming to check your Steam account for access or offering Limited Test access or keys; there are no Limited Test keys.
— CS2 (@CounterStrike) March 22, 2023
Counter-Strike 2 release date
CS2 is set to release in summer 2023, meaning we should all get access to the free game (actually CS2 is an engine port of CS:GO to Source 2 engine) before September begins. That of course if Valve doesn’t decide to delay the launch to January 2024 and extend the beta access to more people. Only time will tell.
“All of the game’s new features will be revealed when it officially launches this summer, but the road to Counter-Strike 2 begins today as a Limited Test for select CS:GO players. During this testing period, we’ll be evaluating a subset of features to shake out any issues before the worldwide release.” More on their website here.
Truth be told, the probability of getting a Counter-Strike 2 beta invitation is slim to none, as known streamers with thousands of played hours and their account in tippy-top shape, have not received the beta yet (here is a reference tweet).
In the meantime, make sure to check out our article regarding all Source 2 games (launched and upcoming) to keep you entertained until “summer 2023″…
