Players logging into CS2 today were greeted by a new soundtrack—harsh and electronic, the same sort of tunes we’ve heard from the development videos. But there were also some surprising goodies for those with a more nostalgic tilt out there: a commemorative badge and a CS:GO music kit to reminisce on the good times in Global Offensive.
After years of development and blowing past its own summer 2023 deadline, Valve finally released the long-awaited latest entry in the Counter-Strike franchise on Sept. 27. CS2 completely supersedes Global Offensive, and some in the community were sad to note that the previous entry will be entirely replaced by the new one on the storefront. Perhaps to placate people or to commemorate the moment in its own way, Valve offered some goodies to former CS:GO players in the new game in the form of a badge and a music kit.
The badge’s description says it “commemorates loyal membership in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive community prior to the release of Counter-Strike 2”, with the quotation “Legends never die.” It is a golden coin with the blue CT defuse logo on one side and a reddish T emblem on the other with the star and the two crossed knives, with 2012-2023 emblazoned below them.
The music kit replaces the main menu soundtrack and the sound effects for the following:
- Round start and end
- Map objective
- Ten-second warning
- Death camera
- MVP anthem
Neither commemorative medals nor music kits are new to Counter-Strike, with five and 10-year service medals serving as previous ways to showcase players’ loyalty to the franchise, but this is the first time it so directly intertwines the series’ past with its present. CS will never be the same again, but if you want to take a trip down memory lane, at least you can do so with the old sounds ringing in your ears.
