Here’s your first look at Valve’s iconic Dust 2 map in ‘Counter-Strike 2’

Recently-announced shooter Counter-Strike 2 will bring a fresh look for a number of the series’ most iconic maps, including the likes of Nuke and Dust 2.

Announced yesterday (March 22), Counter-Strike 2 is a free upgrade for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive that makes a number of significant changes to the series.

Ahead of its summer launch, Valve has revealed that while some Counter-Strike maps have been entirely rebuilt in its Source 2 engine, others have been given smaller upgrades or visual makeovers.

Valve revealed that the series’ most iconic map – Dust 2 – has been marked as a Touchstone map, meaning it’s been given “improvements to lighting and character read” but nothing else.

Meanwhile, the likes of Nuke have been reimagined with “new Source 2 lighting, including a physically based rendering system that produces realistic materials, lighting, and reflections”.

Finally, Valve used Overpass as an example of a map that’s been given a full overhaul — meaning it’s been rebuilt from the ground-up in Source 2.

You can check out side-by-side comparisons of each map here, while the below video shows them in action and outlines how Valve has approached each makeover.

As for what else Counter-Strike 2 has in store, Valve has shared that it will overhaul “every system, every piece of content and every part of the C-S experience”.

These overhauls include newly-dynamic smoke grenades, along with a significant change to make the tick-rate of servers irrelevant for moving and shooting. Additionally, “critical gameplay visuals” such as directional blood splatters and bullet impacts have been redesigned to make them easier to gain information from.

Finally, the Source 2 upgrade will also bring reworked and rebalanced audio, along with a fresh heads-up display (HUD).

Limited playtests for Counter-Strike 2 are currently ongoing.

In other gaming news, Arkane‘s director has claimed that a PS5 version of Redfall was cancelled when Microsoft acquired the studio.