Table of Contents
By the looks of it, Valve’s upcoming Counter-Strike 2 might be getting a mobile release further down the line. Unexpected, sure, but by no means without precedent. While we’re fully aware that all of this sounds like heresy, it is nonetheless a lot more likely than one would expect.
Here’s the thing: mobile gaming has been generating more revenue than both PC and console gaming for years. We’re talking billions of dollars and, based on all available metrics, these numbers will further continue to rise as time goes on.
The best gaming device, one could argue, is the one you have with you at all times. It might not be the best possible option, but it’s nonetheless an indispensable source of entertainment. Our phones nowadays are bafflingly powerful and, frankly, it was only a matter of time before developers decided to board the hype train and put it all to “good use.”
Mobile games are becoming more and more complex as time goes on and are, at the time of this writing, surprisingly layered and feature-rich. Well, most of them, at least. Titles like Diablo Immortal, Genshin Impact, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and many others are staggeringly beautiful and even, in some cases, support cross-platform play and cross-progression.
The list is as long as it is impressive — regardless if one likes it or not.
Counter-Strike 2 on Mobile — It Makes Sense
Some of the biggest IPs of our time are making the switch to mobile. We’re getting Call of Duty: Warzone in a matter of months (if not weeks), and the same holds true for Riot Games’ incredibly popular first-person shooter VALORANT.
These titles might be downgraded in regards to their visuals, but they sure will keep the core gameplay intact.
So, frankly, Valve would be foolish not to make the jump as well. They’d lose out on millions if not billions of dollars in revenue — hence the latest leaks. The reference to “mobile” was datamined recently and has a lot of people talking about a potential port of Counter-Strike 2.
Moreover, the fact that Source 2 has built-in support for iOS and Android means that Valve wouldn’t have to recreate the game from the ground up but rather focus more on optimization and downsizing — i.e. omitting certain features and tweaking the entire experience in order for the game to run properly and have a sensible control scheme.
Now, playing Counter-Strike 2 on a mobile phone or tablet sure doesn’t sound all that alluring, but Call of Duty: Mobile has been making a stupendous amount of money on a yearly basis and, odds are, so will VALORANT.
Valve, therefore, has a very good reason to join in on the fun and, as long as they don’t make the same mistakes as Blizzard did with Diablo: Immortal, they’re almost guaranteed to deliver a stellar experience that’ll draw in millions upon millions of players.
It’s not going to be a replacement or an alternative to the full-fledged game but rather an extension. And if it happens to have some form of cross-progression or, alternatively, a salve of benefits and perks for PC players to accrue, it would no doubt generate a lot more buzz and interest than one could ever imagine.
The whole point of this isn’t to water down the full-fledged CS experience but to instead provide a solid enough chunk of it to every player on the globe that has a sufficiently powerful phone or tablet.
And, if Valve manages to tread the waters and not offend anyone, it will no doubt have a winner on its hands.
Closing Remarks
Counter-Strike 2 on mobile doesn’t sound all that alluring but, if developed correctly, can definitely end up being a tremendous boon. It would, in that case, serve a twofold purpose: it would become yet another source of revenue for Valve while also giving millions of players the opportunity to enjoy a bit of CS whilst on the go.
There’s really no inherent downside. Plus, mobile games, when developed properly — with care, attention, and a full understanding of the platform’s strengths and weaknesses — can end up being quite marvelous.
Riot’s Wild Rift is a truly phenomenal example, and much of the same can be said for Diablo Immortal as well. Blizzard dropped the ball hard with microtranscations and a myriad of other things, but the gameplay itself, for the most part, is actually stellar.
If we ignore the — admittedly quite plentiful — flaws for the moment, it is a true Diablo experience on mobile.
Valve, as a company, moves in many different directions, and it “moves” at the most random of moments, too. Making any kind of prediction, therefore, wouldn’t make much sense.
These “mobile” references, however, are probably no coincidence. Valve is, at the very least, toying with the idea of porting Counter-Strike 2 over to mobile. We may well see it come to fruition in the next year and a half or so, but it’s still way too early to give out any guarantees.
In any case, we’re intrigued.