CSGO star s1mple makes request to Valve for Counter-Strike 2 ahead of full release

NAVI CS:GO superstar Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev has made a plea to Valve with regards to the release of Counter-Strike 2.

s1mple and the CS:GO community at large got to see Counter-Strike 2 for the first time on March 22 as Valve officially announced the newest entry in its iconic FPS franchise.

Sitting alongside ESL’s broadcast talent after his team’s match against Outsiders, the Ukrainian prodigy, the best player in CS:GO history, was left in awe as he learned about the introduction of responsive smokes, one of Counter-Strike 2’s most talked about features.

After seeing just how much the game might change once Counter-Strike 2 is officially released, s1mple couldn’t help but make a plea to Valve.

“Valve, if you’re listening to me, let us finish the tournaments so that we will have the same amount of time to prepare after the player break,” he said on the ESL broadcast.

Counter-Strike 2’s release date remains a mystery, with Valve stating only that the game is coming out in the summer of 2023.

The 2023 summer tournament break will run from June 12 to July 9, as determined last year by the Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association (CSPPA) after consulting with tournament organizers.

The BLAST Premier Fall Groups (July 13-23) and IEM Cologne (July 25-August 6) are the first tournaments after the break, but it’s unclear at this point if either event will be played in Counter-Strike 2 – or even if the game will be out by then.

Dexerto has reached out to ESL and BLAST for comment.

For more information about Counter-Strike 2, make sure to check out the links below:

How to play Counter-Strike 2 limited beta test | Is Counter-Strike 2 going to be free to play? | Every game mode in Counter-Strike 2 | Every confirmed map from CSGO in Counter-Strike 2 | Can you play Counter-Strike 2 on console? | What is sub-tick in Counter-Strike 2? | All smoke changes in Counter-Strike 2 | Can you play Counter-Strike 2 on Linux or macOS? | Can banned CS:GO players play Counter-Strike 2? | What will happen to my CSGO skins? | Will Counter-Strike 2 come to Steam Deck? | Valve officially reveals Counter-Strike 2 | Everything we know about Counter-Strike 2