Valve’s latest revolutionary reiteration of Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Counter Strike 2 (CS2) has raked up a storm of excitement among the community since its release on September 27, 2023. The game which Valve describes as the “largest technical leap in Counter-Strike’s history” is built on Valve’s Source 2 engine, bidding farewell to the Global Offensive version.
CS2 has transformed the way players interact with the game by introducing a host of new features as well as improvements. Naturally, fans are loving this new version and are clearly impressed with it. From visuals to audio and user interface, CS2 is giving players a whole new gaming experience.
While the game was released on Steam on September 27, 2023, fans had their valid set of doubts, which included the availibilty of the game on developer Valve’s very own handheld gaming computer device, Steam Deck.
Is CS2 compatible with the Steam Deck?
The answer to whether CS2 is compatible with Steam Deck is yes. Counter Strike 2 is compatible with Steam Deck.
Steam Deck categorizes its games into four categories, namely, “Unknown,” “Unsupported,” “Playable,” or “Verified.” The titles labeled as “Verified” are known to run seamlessly on the deck with the highest integration. On the other hand, the “Playable” tag is used to indicate that players can play the title but not without resolution issues. Interestingly, Counter-Strike 2 has been marked as “Playable,” on Steam Deck.
The game has received similar reviews from Steam Deck users who believe the Steam Deck device is not the most competitive way to play CS2. Players are preferring the handheld device only while cutting off from the PC for a little while, and engaging in a few rounds of Arms Race. That’s it. That’s the only thing that is worth doing on Steam Deck.
Similar to some of the best Steam Deck games, CS2’s system requirements also demand an install space of a heavy 85GB of install space. That’s a lot of storage capacity for the handheld device. Although Valve may have given it the ‘playable’ tag, it misses out on being fully ‘verified.’ Some of the in-game text is not legible on the Steam Deck’s 1280 x 800 sized screen, that’s how bad the game situation is on the deck.
Additionally, the game also doesn’t currently have controller support for the handheld device. This essentially means that players cannot access the in-game menus or even play the game with its D-pad or thumb sticks. Till Valve does not fix the issues, it is recommended that Steam Deck users connect a gaming mouse and keyboard, to the Steam Deck dock, or via Bluetooth to play the game
That being said, the game uses Valve’s Source 2 engine, which is a cutting-edge system that must work well with the strong AMD CPU that is present in the Steam Deck. This means fans can expect improvements soon.
