Counter-Strike 2 PC system requirements
To run Counter-Strike 2 you need at least 4 hardware CPU threads - Intel Core i5 750 or higher / Video card must be 1 GB or more, DirectX 11-compatible with Shader Model 5.0, with 8 GB of RAM.
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 (64-bit) | Windows 10/11 (64-bit) |
| CPU | 4 hardware CPU threads - Intel Core i5 750 or higher | Intel Core i5-7500 / AMD Ryzen 5 1600 or better |
| RAM | 8 GB | 12-16 GB |
| GPU | Video card must be 1 GB or more, DirectX 11-compatible with Shader Model 5.0 | GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB / Radeon RX 580 8 GB or better |
| Storage | 85 GB available space | 85 GB (SSD recommended) |
| Notes | DirectX 11. 64-bit processor and OS required. | Community/competitive recommendation, not published by Valve - see context. |
Sources · Last verified: July 12, 2026.
Counter-Strike 2 is deliberately light on hardware: Valve officially publishes only a MINIMUM specification, and the game will boot on a decade-old Core i5 with a 1 GB DirectX 11 card. There is no official 'recommended' tier, so the recommended row above reflects widely cited community/competitive figures (a modern i5/Ryzen 5, 12-16 GB RAM, and a GTX 1060/RX 580-class GPU), which comfortably deliver the high, stable frame rates competitive players target. Because CS2 rewards very high FPS for responsive aim, the practical bottleneck is usually the GPU and CPU single-thread performance rather than meeting the low floor. When CS2 launched it dropped support for macOS, DirectX 9, and 32-bit systems, so it now targets 64-bit Windows and Linux only. There is no official Steam Deck 'Verified' rating tied to competitive play, but the game can run on Linux/Proton; anti-cheat and input considerations make PC (mouse and keyboard) the intended platform.
Sources
- Steam - Counter-Strike 2
- Wikipedia - Counter-Strike 2
- GameSpot - Valve ends CS2 support for Mac and older systems
- Esports.net - Is Counter-Strike crossplay?
- Hotspawn - Counter-Strike 2 size
- Last verified: July 12, 2026. Sizes and specs can change with patches — tell us if something is out of date.