My word, it just keeps happening. Over the past few days, Valve’s activity on the Steam backend seems to point to the release of an updated version of its flagship FPS game in the form of CSGO Source 2. Now, however, it looks like we may be getting closer to a full sequel and Counter-Strike 2 release date – fresh trademark filings related to both Global Offensive and something with “CS2” prominently displayed seem to suggest that Counter-Strike 2 is on the way
As a quick reminder, this week Valve made a number of changes to the CSGO Steam archive, adding new executables called “CS2”, as well as updates and changes to the Counter-Strike Global Offensive beta platform.
At first it seemed like the long-awaited engine update, CSGO Source 2, was bound to be on the way, but a little digging at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) seems to suggest that it could be a full-fledged Counter-Strike 2 instead.
On March 14, Valve Corporation filed an application for the trademark “CS2” with the USPTO. If that’s not enough, the file includes a “related properties section” that describes any other Valve trademarks that CS2 may be associated with. This section contains two serial numbers – searching for these two serial numbers reveals two other Valve properties, Counter-Strike and CSGO.
Below you can see the CS2 file with the relevant serial numbers highlighted:
And here is the CSGO trademark application with the corresponding registration number:
Simply put, Valve has registered a new trademark called CS2, which is associated as intellectual property with the Counter-Strike and CSGO brands. At the moment there is an amazing conspiracy theory that the launch of CS2 is somehow related to the US version of The Office – you can read about it here here. However, these new trademark applications seem to offer us something more reliable.
If Counter-Strike 2 is indeed on the way, it’s best to work on them CSGO ranksor maybe check out the best Crossroads of CSGO. Plus, you can kill time with the best free steam games are currently available.