Installing CS:GO and CS2 Seperately

Introduction

This is a tutorial about how to install a copy of CS:GO but also keep CS2 in your library so you don't need to install CS:GO or CS2 whenever you want to change games

Step-by-Step Guide

Installing CS:GO

In the Steam app, navigate to your library and to the Counter-Strike 2 page

CS2 steam page

Either right-click Counter-Strike 2 on the left (as shown) and select properties OR alternatively click the gear and select properties from there

Open properties

That will bring you to Counter-Strike 2's General game settings page; go to Betas on the left
Under Beta Participation drop menu, select csgo_legacy - Legacy Version of CS:GO

CS2 beta properties window

Exit out of the settings page and now Steam should be prompting you to update the game so it may download all the CSGO files

⚠️

This WILL overwrite your current CS2 game, most of your settings should be saved but I recommend creating a autoexec file to save all of your settings and take a note of your video settings as those cannot be set by command-line

Create a separate CSGO game entry on steam

Browse to local files

CS2 browse local files

It will bring you to this Screenshot

Windows file explorer cs:go folder

Navigate up to the common folder using one of the methods circled in the screenshot below and make a copy of the cs folder; you may rename it if you'd like

Windows file explorer common

Here's an example of the folder being renamed, not crucial to the process but may make it easier for you to identify the game

Before:

Before rename

After:

After rename

Next on your Steam app go to Games > Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library

Steam add non-steam game

Select Browse

Add non-steam game browser

Copy the Directory for your CSGO file and paste it into the directory of the File Explorer page that opened when you clicked Browse. Make sure to press enter

Windows file explorer cs:go folder path

Search .exe in the search bar; select csgo.exe

Windows file explorer csgo apps

cs2 csgo_legacy

Conclusion

You have just added CSGO back to your steam library; don't forgot to navigate back to CS2 and change beta selection back to none

Credits

This guide was written by u/byeet (opens in a new tab).

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