Secrecy about Valve's plans for the release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 2 has ESL Faceit Group, which organizes many of the marquis CS:GO esports majors, in a holding pattern in terms of preparation for future events around the globe.
Valve has only announced that Romania-based event organizer PGL will stage the first CSGO2 event in March 2024, but beyond that, no plans have come from the game publisher beyond a vague promise of something "over the summer." ESL CEO Craig Levine talked to SBJ at the Complexity 20th Anniversary Party over the weekend and said, "It’s hold the course. I don’t think much changes. ...From an ecosystem perspective, our plans stay the same.”
ESL-hosted majors include IEM Katowice (Poland) and IEM Cologne (Germany), two highly-popular events. “Whether or not we get those [Majors], we’re staying the course,” Levine said. While majors are more high-profile and likely more lucrative, Levine also pointed to the ESL Pro Tour circuit as an area of excellence the company is leaning on in terms of inventory."
