That is literally what they’ve done. The default is CS2, but you can select a beta version in steam which enables CS:GO again. Matchmaking servers are all migrated to CS2, ofcourse, but community servers still work.
The reason they replaced CS:GO with CS2 instead of creating a seperate game is to not split the playerbase. Back when CS:Source released, the playerbase was essentially split in half, with many choosing to remain on CS 1.6, and it took a lot of effort to make CS:GO the standard.
I don’t really see the use at home either, but for notetaking at school it is an absolute godsent. No more forgetting stuff at home or carrying around a heavy folder
CS2 is still in the ‘Limited Test’ phase, but with this update they invited a lot of new players, almost everyone who has Prime and holds a matchmaking rank. I say almost everyone, because I still wasn’t invited :(
I know people have gotten it to run on Steam Decks in the past. Here’s a guide for running it on Linux in general, though I would assume it also applies to the Steam Deck.
Also, controller support is not a thing in Freelancer, so you have to play with KB&M
Though you might be better off asking in the discord server: https://discord.gg/FdSkbZ8
There’s a list of most active factions on their discord: https://discord.gg/FdSkbZ8
Here’s a pop chart:
Really hoping Snapdragon Oryon can be the same boon for Windows/Linux that Apple’s M CPUs were for Mac