Valve is reportedly neglecting Counter-Strike 2 (CS2), likened to an “adopted child” by former Valorant professional TenZ, as the developer’s new hero-shooter MOBA Deadlock garners all the attention and support.
Although anticipation for CS2’s highly awaited September 2023 launch was immense, Valve’s engagement with the game post-launch has been somewhat disappointing. With infrequent updates, players are expressing frustration regarding the minimal patches, with some professional gamers predicting it might take another six years for the game to reach its full potential.
Conversely, Valve has shifted much of its focus to Deadlock, which launched unexpectedly in 2024. Even in its early access phase, this hero-shooter MOBA hybrid has been enjoying substantial updates at a notably consistent pace.
New characters have been introduced, critical bugs fixed almost instantly, and there have been considerable changes to the game maps, with ongoing communication from the development team contributing to a smoother experience.
Highlighting the contrast between the two games, ex-CSGO pro TenZ commented on CS2 being cast aside while Deadlock receives the spotlight, describing it as an “adopted child.”
TenZ seems to have no hope for Counter-Strike, but thinks Gabe Newell will like Deadlock since it’s a MOBA like Dota pic.twitter.com/K7VjreCwtp
— Deadlock Intel (@IntelDeadlock) September 30, 2024
During a Twitch stream on September 30, a disheartened viewer posed a question regarding Valve’s direction for CS2: “What was the reason they switched to CS2 and not do anything? Do they even have plans for CS2?”
TenZ did not hold back in vocalizing his skepticism about the sequel’s direction, noting that little progress has been noted since its release. “It was mainly about porting it to the Source 2 engine,” he stated, adopting a sarcastic tone. “But the real purpose seems to be to claim they did something while focusing fully on Deadlock, releasing two major patches rich in content… Two new characters, new jungle camps, items, graphics, everything… but happy birthday Counter-Strike! It hasn’t received anything.”
Indeed, the one-year anniversary of CS2 passed without much celebration. TenZ underscored that this suggests the shooter is being overlooked in favor of Deadlock.
“Valve has long treated CS like an adopted child. TF2 is more like the cousin. Valve’s giving CS2 the TF2 treatment,” he remarked.
Deadlock is receiving updates with far greater frequency than CS2.
Emphasizing his point, particularly from an esports perspective, TenZ expressed concern that Valve President Gabe Newell appears to favor MOBAs over shooters. According to him, Newell has shown little interest in CS, notably because he has not attended major Counter-Strike tournaments, in contrast to his presence at numerous Dota 2 events.
As we await further developments from Valve regarding CS2, it is evident that the focus is heavily skewed toward Deadlock, which continues to roll out updates consistently.
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