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For those wondering if you will be able to play Counter-Strike 2 on Steam Deck, you’ve come to the right place.
Counter-Strike 2 is the latest announced release in the Counter-Strike series by Valve. It was announced on March 22, 2023 in a twitter post. Key updates promised for this iteration include smoke grenades that ‘expands to fill spaces naturally’ and a promise of ‘cleaner, brighter, better’ maps. With that in mind, it’s no wonder that gamers are now trying to find out if Counter-Strike 2 will be available to play on Steam Deck when it arrives in summer.
Let’s have a look at what we found.
Will you be able to play Counter-Strike 2 on Steam Deck?
In short, we think it’s likely, but there are factors muddying the water and making it hard to pin down a clear answer.
Let’s get into that.
First off: nothing has been confirmed by Valve vis-a-vis Steam Deck compatibility for the full release of Counter-Strike 2. That being said, both Steam Deck and the Counter-Strike series were developed by the same company, Valve. With that in mind, it would be strange if Counter-Strike 2 was incompatible with their own hardware.
However, muddying the waters a bit, there is a Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test game out now for select gamers, and it only runs on Windows. In fact, nothing is mentioned about Steam Deck compatibility in the FAQ’s for the Limited Test at all.
Nevertheless, if you head over to the Limited Test official page, there is an announcement saying that ‘the Limited Test only evaluates a subset of Counter-Strike 2’s features, so that major issues can be resolved before the summer.’ It’s possible that one of the features that will change between the Limited Edition and the full release is Steam Deck compatibility.
At the end of the day, nothing has been confirmed about the full release and its compatibility with Steam Deck. While the shared company factor makes us think it likely they will be compatible, the lack of Limited Edition compatibility is making us question that. It seems only time will tell.
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