After months of deliberation and waiting with bated breath, Counter-Strike 2 is finally ready launched and had a good reception. However, the highly anticipated game did not appear on the macOS platform. Many expected CS2 to come to Apple systems as well. Unfortunately, Valve has confirmed that Counter-Strike 2 will not launch for Apple’s Mac range of personal computers that use the macOS operating system. There are several reasons for this. Let’s find out why and discuss how you can still play CS:GO on macOS via another version.
Counter-Strike 2 isn’t coming to macOS; Valve confirms
In a Steam support Frequently asked questions pageValve explains that Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) will be the ‘biggest technical leap‘ in the history of the franchise. However, the new game simply demands extra power from your system specs and is therefore more difficult to use than CS:GO. Another big reason is that gamers who play CS:GO on macOS only make up about 1% of the active base. That’s why Valve has officially Discontinued support for the macOS platformso Counter-Strike 2 is not coming to the macOS operating system.
In addition, Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) will do the same are only supported on 64-bit Windows operating system and also the Linux operating system. Graphics cards that support the DirectX 9 API and even 32-bit Windows are also not supported on CS2. A GPU that supports the newer DirectX APIs will work fine, even if they aren’t too powerful (we got 60-100FPS with the best CS2 settings on an Intel integrated graphics laptop).
In the future, there could be a way to play Counter-Strike 2 on Macs by using Windows on it. We will keep you informed if that happens, but for the time being this is not possible. Players who have a Prime status upgrade in CS:GO or CS2 are eligible for a refund up to December 1, 2023. So if you purchased Prime between the date the CS2 beta was launched (March 22, 2023) and the official CS2 release (September 27, 2023), you can request a refund for the Prime Status Upgrade, which costs $14.99. Gifts, CD keys and blocked accounts are not eligible for a refund.
The CS:GO Legacy version will be available to everyone
As you know, CS:GO is the older Counter-Strike game that was pulled from the Steam Store. But you can still install CS:GO older version. To do this, simply go to the Characteristics for Counter-Strike 2 in your Steam library. Then, under ‘Betas’, select csgo_legacy, which is present in the drop-down menu. The older version of CS:GO will be downloaded and when you start the game you will be greeted with the older version based on source 1.
You can play the older version of CS:GO on macOS, Windows and Linux. After January 1, 2024, the older version of CS:GO will no longer receive support from Valve. This will make the older version of CS:GO playable, but it won’t have any special matchmaking. To play with weapons in your CS:GO inventory, you’ll need to play CS2, with all previous items ported over to the Source 2 engine.
Still, many will thank Valve for not completely removing CS:GO from Steam. Players can play Counter-Strike with bots on the older map, and there’s a chance that community servers are still hosted on it. Honestly, even though the player base was small, I wish Valve had made the effort to support the macOS platform. Apple’s ARM-based M-series chips are powerful enough, but require the effort of game developers to create new games on them. What do you think about Counter-Strike 2 not appearing on macOS? Let us know in the comments below.
