Players looking forward to enjoying a few rounds of Counter-Strike 2 on macOS or an older Windows PC will soon be out of luck, as Valve announces that support for both platforms will be dropped moving forward. The announcement comes just weeks after the launch of Valve’s long-awaited shooter sequel on the developer and publisher’s wildly successful Steam platform.
Counter-Strike 2 will be exclusively available on computers running 64-bit Windows or Linux
A new post on the Steam Support blog provides some disappointing news for Counter-Strike players running macOS or an older version of Windows on their primary gaming computer. Moving forward, Counter-Strike 2 will only be playable on machines running either the Linux operating system or a 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows. Stating that Counter-Strike 2 “represents the largest technical leap in CS history” and citing a desire to develop the franchise for years to come, Valve also reveals that the hardware support changes won’t be limited to the recently released sequel.
Not only will players running macOS or 32-bit versions of Windows be unable to play Counter-Strike 2 under the new changes, but they also have only a few months left of updates to its predecessor, Counter-Strike: GO. Although gamers using unsupported hardware will still be able to access a legacy version of CS:GO, Valve states that support for this version of the game will cease on January 1, 2024. While this move is certain to leave some players feeling left out, according to the blog post, those gaming on Apple devices and legacy Windows hardware represent “less than one percent” of active CS:GO players.
Players who purchased a Prime Status Upgrade for Counter-Strike 2 between the announcement of the game’s Limited Test on March 22 and its official launch on September 27 will be eligible for a refund as long as they apply before December 1. Valve also notes that players will still be able to access CS:GO after official support ends in 2024, although functionality that depends on its Game Coordinator system “may degrade and/or fail” according to the blog post.
The continuing support for Linux, even as other operating systems lose access to the popular shooter series, is likely evidence of Valve’s continued commitment to its Steam Deck portable gaming PC. Originally teased in 2021, the Steam Deck is powered by a custom variant of Linux that uses Valve’s Proton compatibility layer to let gamers play a massive library of previously Windows-only PC games on the go.
