Recent findings from data miners indicate that the forthcoming Counter-Strike 2 (CS2), set for a summer release this year, could be featuring ranked competitive play seasons and in-game leaderboards, taking a substantial leap from its predecessor Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO).
The discovery was made following the latest update to the Counter-Strike 2 limited-test beta, a consistent part of Valve’s lead-up to the game’s anticipated launch. Regular updates have seen various new developments, such as introducing revised maps in Source 2 and allowing gamers to explore the new physics.
Latest major @CounterStrike 2 update indicates that the Premier Competitive mode will get an overhaul featuring "seasons". pic.twitter.com/VTxTaYZYxZ
— Aquarius (@aquaismissing) August 2, 2023
Despite having a basic ranking system, CS:GO has faced criticism for not including feature standards in other games’ ranked modes, such as leaderboards, in-game tournaments, and seasons with rank resets. Competing games like Valorant and Apex Legends are lauded for these features, as they allow players to understand what they need to do to rank up.
Counter-Strike data miner Aquarius revealed the impending changes via a Twitter post, sharing that the Premier Competitive mode of CS2 will undergo a revamp to feature seasons. According to Aquarius, the seasons would reset the leaderboard periodically, and players can also expect a global leaderboard that can be sorted by region.
Right now the seasons look something like this: Limited Test, 2023 Fall, 2024 Spring and 2024 Fall.
I assume it's gonna be 2 seasons a year from one CS2 Major to another. pic.twitter.com/Bk4DEGCR11
— Aquarius (@aquaismissing) August 2, 2023
The leaderboards will display a player’s name, rank, wins, winrate, global percentile, and a CS Rating. The CS Rating, similar to HLTV or Leetify ratings, will amalgamate different stats such as kills, deaths, assists, impact, and ADR, among others, to produce a singular rating indicative of a player’s performance.
The Premier mode will also show additional stats like the map winrate of your squad, detailed stats of individual players, and CS Ratings.
The preliminary season in the beta version of CS2 is dubbed Beta Season, though it might just be a placeholder for now. Based on Aquarius’s study of the game files, there will possibly be two seasons each year, in alignment with the scheduled CS2 Majors in Spring and Fall.
These features closely resemble those provided by FACEIT, a preferred matchmaking service for high-elo CS players, as the matchmaking system of CS:GO has long struggled with several issues.
