Data miners have uncovered a new game profile added via the latest Nvidia driver update under the name of Counter-Strike 2. Knowing that no game exists with such a name, speculation around the next flagship Counter-Strike game by Valve has begun.According to the leak, the profile contains two executable files named "cs2" and "csgos2". This is the first time that a game profile of the same name has been spotted inside an Nvidia update, which could mean the potential Counter-Strike sequel might have reached a critical stage in the development process that a third-party company like Nvidia is aware of. The executable file of "csgos2" sounds like it might be a direct sequel to Counter-Strike Global Offensive, though that extra "S" in the end sounds vague.
Overall, Nvidia has a good track record of leaking games before their official announcement. Previously, a classified list of games supported by Nvidia GeForce Now was leaked online and revealed many upcoming triple-A titles, including some PC ports of PlayStation-exclusive games.
However, in the case of Valve, the company is well-known for teasing fans, especially data miners, about its upcoming projects. But not every Valve project sees the light of day. Previously, there was a leak inside Steam Deck's Aperture Desk Job which referred to two upcoming projects from Valve, one of which hinted at a shooter game with some hero-based elements and a PvPvE environment. Although that definition doesn't fit into the Counter-Strike series at all, we never heard anything official about that leak from Valve.
Currently, the latest AAA title from Valve is Half-Life: Alyx, which was a VR-exclusive title released back in 2020. Since then, Valve has announced and released the Steam Deck as a brand-new handheld platform, but no specific video game project has been confirmed so far.
Valve owns the right to a number of highly popular IPs such as Counter-Strike, Dota, Half-Life, Portal, Left 4 Dead, and Team Fortress. A sequel to any of these franchises is big news for the industry, but unfortunately, Valve usually stays tight-lipped about its projects until they are close enough to a final release.