Ten players, one bomb, and nowhere for mistakes to hide.
Last updated
Counter-Strike 2 is a free fps game released under Free to Play. It runs on Windows, Linux, needs about 40.0 GB of disk space, and requires no account, payment or trial. On a computer, the fastest route is the PlayBound Launcher. On a phone or tablet, use the official store or site instead.
Choose how to install
Install with PlayBound or download from the official source without the launcher.
Install the PlayBound Launcher, then find Counter-Strike 2 and press Install. The launcher downloads the official release, unpacks it and creates a shortcut. This is the fastest route and it never uses third-party mirrors.
Alternatively, download Counter-Strike 2 directly from the official site at https://www.counter-strike.net. Always download from the official source — third-party mirrors of free games are a common malware vector.
Counter-Strike 2 is also on Steam and is free there. Open the store page and press Play Game to add it to your library.
steam://install/730Windows
Run the downloaded installer and follow the prompts. If Windows SmartScreen warns about an unrecognised publisher, that is normal for open-source projects without a paid code-signing certificate — choose More info, then Run anyway.
Linux
Check your distribution's package manager first, which is usually the easiest route. Otherwise download the AppImage from the official site, mark it executable and run it.
chmod +x *.AppImage && ./*.AppImageLaunch the game and look at the settings menu before your first session — resolution and control defaults are worth checking. Counter-Strike 2 needs roughly 40.0 GB of free disk space.
Minimum
Intel Core 2 · 6 GB RAM · DX11 · 85 GB storage
Recommended
Quad-core · 8 GB RAM · Dedicated GPU · SSD
Yes. Counter-Strike 2 is released under Free to Play and costs nothing to download or play.
About 40.0 GB. The minimum system requirements are Intel Core 2 · 6 GB RAM · DX11 · 85 GB storage.
Windows, Linux. It is also Steam Deck compatible.
No account is required to download or play.
Yes. Counter-Strike 2 supports up to 10 players. You can join a public community server from the PlayBound server browser and have PlayBound start a dedicated server for your group. There is no subscription and no paid multiplayer tier.