Valve released this week Counterattack 2the long-awaited free update for owners of Counter Strike Global Offensivebut Mac owners were left in the lurch on release day, as the update broke the game and apparently no version of macOS will be released.
The title’s launch on Wednesday forced a 26 GB update for everyone who had CS:GO, including Mac users, but after installation, those on macOS soon discovered that the update essentially makes the game unplayable because Steam subsequently attempts to launch an executable file for Windows. Some users have had to employ a workaround to revert the change and access CS:GObut it is not ideal.
Valve quietly removed the macOS symbol on Steam Counterattack product page, while the only reference to this omission for Counterattack 2 appears in Valve’s official FAQ. A question about Mac compatibility says, “No. CS2 is not available for Mac at this time,” but provides no additional information.
Regardless, Valve apparently failed to adequately warn Mac users, many of whom have logged thousands of hours on CS:GO and spent hundreds of dollars on inventory purchases. A Mac gamer on Reddit wrote:
I have about 6000 hours in csgo, about $500 worth of inventory and I’m supposed to leave all that behind now. Simply cherish them as memories of the past that will never be experienced again? I really thought Valve would have released a CS2 version for MacOS as well. They have publicly denounced the Windows gaming monopoly in the past. With MacOS Sonoma, Apple’s powerful silicon chips, and Apple moving forward to make gaming on Mac possible, and Valve’s commitment to making its games available to everyone, I guess we didn’t see this coming. Or maybe we did but we were stubborn. I guess with Valve’s beloved Steam Deck, MacOS became redundant for them as a way to challenge Windows’ gaming monopoly. I’m sorry you had to hear this, but I feel very disappointed right now. In me and in Valve. I’m sure most of you CSGO players were as excited and hopeful as I was for the release of the game.
Counter Strike Global Offensive is one of the most popular and longest-running games on macOS, with a large community of followers, so the lack of support and transparency from Valve for Mac users who upgrade to Counterattack 2 It’s even more disconcerting.
Based on recent updates of the CS2 macOS repository, some users believe a Mac version is in development, but it would likely tie into Rosetta 2 rather than a version that natively supports Apple silicon. With no news on the subject from Valve, this remains pure speculation.
The long-rumored game, officially announced in March, updates many beloved maps and uses Valve’s in-house Source 2 engine, which features sharper textures, more realistic lighting, and new geometry. We’ve reached out to Valve for comment on this story and will update readers if we hear back.
(Thanks Scott!)