Valve Confirms No Counter-Strike 2 for macOS: Here’s Why

Oct. 11, 2023

After months of deliberation and waiting with bated breath, Counter-Strike 2 finallylaunchedand had a good reception. However, the much-awaited game did not appear on the macOS platform. Many expected that CS2 would come to Apple systems as well. Unfortunately, Valve has confirmed that Counter-Strike 2 is not launching for Apple’s Mac lineup of personal computers that use the macOS operating system. There are a variety of reasons for this. Let’s discover why and discuss how you can still play CS:GO on macOS through another version.

Counter-Strike 2 Not Coming To macOS; Valve Confirms

In a Steam supportFAQ page, Valve explains that Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) is the ‘largest technical leap‘ in the franchise’s history. However, the new game simply demands additional power from your system specifications and, hence, is harder to run than CS:GO. Another major reason is that the gamers who play CS:GO on macOS only make up about 1% of the active base. Therefore, Valve has officiallydiscontinuedsupport for themacOS platform, so Counter-Strike 2 is not coming to the macOS operating system.

In addition to this, Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) willexclusively be supported on a 64-bit Windowsoperating system and also the Linux OS. Graphics cards supporting the DirectX 9 API and even 32-bit Windows will also not be supported on CS2. A GPU supporting the newer DirectX APIs will work fine, even if they aren’t too powerful (we got 60-100FPS with thebest CS2 settingson an Intel-integrated graphics laptop).

As you know, CS:GO is the older Counter-Strike game that has been taken off the Steam Store. But you can still install the CS:GOlegacy version. To do this, simply go to thePropertiesfor Counter-Strike 2 in your Steam Library. Then, under ‘Betas,’ select csgo_legacy, which is present under the drop-down menu. The CS:GO legacy version will start downloading, and when you launch the game, you will be greeted with the older version based on Source 1.

Still, many will thank Valve for not deleting CS:GO completely from Steam. Players can play Counter-Strike with bots on the older map, and there is a chance that community servers could still be hosted in it. Honestly, even though the player base was small, I wish that Valve had put in the effort to support the macOS platform. The ARM-based M-series chips by Apple are powerful enough but require the effort of game devs to make new games on them. What are your thoughts on Counter-Strike 2 not launching on macOS? Let us know in the comments below.

Highly passionate about technology. Major expertise in PC hardware, the VR industry, esports-centric gear, and other gadgets. In my spare time, I’m usually researching exciting hardware breakthroughs or playing competitive games.