Counter-Strike 2's limited beta opened last week, but its barriers to entry have many players unhappy. Counter-Strike 2 has proven to be one of the biggest surprise game reveals of the year, and access to its beta has become highly desired by PC players.
Last week's announcement of Counter-Strike 2 swiftly got the PC gaming community brimming with excitement. Its predecessor, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, has been a mainstay in the multiplayer shooter genre for over ten years as it successfully picked up where the original Counter-Strike left off. Counter-Strike 2 is positioned to follow a similar path as not only will player's CS:GO skins carry over, but the current lineup of maps will be souped up with upgraded visuals and sound design. Fans can get a taste of the changes by playing the limited test if they are lucky enough to get access.
However, Valve's system for giving players beta access has led to some disappointment as one of the factors that affect one's chances is the number of play hours they have on official CS:GO servers. The catch is that, according to the official Counter-Strike Twitter account, only play hours from before the launch of the limited test count toward this. This has many gamers upset as people have begun playing the game a great deal recently in hopes of getting beta access, and this is evidenced by CS:GO breaking Steam records for concurrent players following Counter-Strike 2's announcement. Players and creators from across the CS:GO community expressed their disappointment in the replies to this tweet.
While some of these frustrations revolved around Valve's failure to inform players about this stipulation sooner, others were upset about the seemingly random nature of selection. Another requirement for getting access to the Counter-Strike 2 limited test is having a good trust factor, meaning players with no bans or VAC violations have better chances of getting chosen. YouTuber Bibanator showed that they were not given access despite meeting these requirements on top of having over 18,000 hours in the game. Australian streamer Bordie also pointed out that she has seen very few Australian players with access, showing how the current selection system could affect those in certain regions.
The massive amount of attention that Counter-Strike 2 has gotten mere days after its reveal already has it poised to be one of the most anticipated PC games of the year. Unfortunately, some of this excitement has evidently been dampened by the limited access to the beta which has frustrated players on top of opening the door for Counter-Strike 2 beta access scams. It will still likely be some time before Counter-Strike 2 releases, so Valve has a good opportunity to refine its selection system to better service players in the lead-up to launch.
Counter-Strike 2 launches this summer for PC.