Counter-Strike 2 may soon be looking at some incredible changes to its cosmetics and gameplay with a potential new operation, keychains, pets, and customizable agents. This and more have been suggested by renowned CS2 data miner Gabe Follower, who also dug up some interesting hints at upcoming Valve titles.
Gabe Follower compiled all of his recent and most interesting findings in a June 18 video, where he highlighted several potential updates that might be around the corner, first and foremost relating to the 25th anniversary of the Counter-Strike franchise on June 19. “Now would be the perfect time for a major update,” he explained, claiming that Valve is at the very least compiling a new skin case. He glanced over the details related to the new operation that he briefly hinted at previously, which included a potential new story comic, several maps (including Shortdust and maybe even Cobblestone), and weapon keychains.
Gabe Follower also spoke on even more chicken animations appearing in the game’s engine files, alongside numerous mentions of so-called “pets.” It’s unclear what exactly Valve is doing with these new animations and “pets,” though. The preview animations relate both to the in-match and inventory inspection, alluding to the potential appearance of chicken or pet-related skins and cosmetics. Whether these pets will follow you around or have another function is still unknown and will be until Valve updates these hidden files further as development on them progresses.
Mentions of customizable player characters or agents also show up in the game files, now much more expanded upon than before. Players might get the chance to change eyewear, facemasks, heads, clothing, and other aspects of their character. This might be the reason Valve decided to remove faction-based and map-based characters from the game with the release of CS2.
Aside from CS-related stuff, Gabe Follower also uncovered numerous technologies Valve is potentially working on that might be a part of another Source 2 project. Though Deadlock is almost certainly Valve’s next big game, its arcadey look implies that the hair rendering and facial animation technologies that show up in the engine data are tied to another Valve game.
Valve may also be trying to expand the realism of its CS2 characters as Gabe Follower notes the company previously updated agents’ eyes to give them a more lifelike feel.
Valve is the king corporation of mystery and radio silence, so data mining is almost all we have to rely on to know what to expect from it. The data shown above might suggest something big is on the way, though only Lord Gaben knows for certain what the next move is.
