CS2 fans fume over Counter-Strike’s 25th anniversary celebration

2024 marks the 25th anniversary of Counter-Strike, and many fans are wondering if they should expect a new CS2 case or event.

With an original release date of June 19, 1999, Counter-Strike has around a million players daily and a thriving esports community. The game overall is the most played game on Steam, CS2 being the latest iteration from 2023, according to the official Steam website. After a big loot drop to honor the CS 20th anniversary back in 2019, much of the community is hoping for a comparable celebration.

However, those hopes may need to be lowered. Here’s what players need to know about the CS 25th anniversary.

Will CS2 drop a 25th anniversary event or case?

As of writing, Valve hasn’t announced the release of any 25th anniversary items or events for CS2.

Fans are understandably disappointed. To celebrate CS20, the developers released a special weapons case and stickers capsule with a plethora of self-referential skins for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive community. Then in 2023, Valve fixed several bugs in the original Half-Life for its 25th anniversary and even released new maps and a behind-the-scenes documentary. Prominently, the game featured a rogue tentacle unsynced from a floating scientist before being fixed, along with a few other issues.

Many players were expecting Valve to celebrate the 25th anniversary with similar enthusiasm to either previous update. Reputable Valve leaker Gabe Follower also recently showed how the CS2 code had evidence of a new community-created operation and case drops. Other items, like pets and a Danger Zone remake, are less certain but possible for the future. The last operation ended in early 2022, and many players feel like they’re long overdue for a new one.

Valve is well-known for keeping secrets locked tight, so it’s unclear how likely a new operation is to actually manifest. If they plan to release anything else, whether an operation or general update, Valve has until the end of the day to be able to pull it into the CS 25th anniversary announcement.