Though the relatively new engine isn't responsible for many games yet, Valve's Source 2 Engine still stands as a benchmark tool for developers and modders as the successor to the original Source Engine. However, the tool responsible for titles like Team Fortress 2 and CS:GO appears to be receiving another update soon that could make for massive graphical improvements on games that currently run on Source 2.
Dataminers have discovered a few new lines of code within recent versions of Valve's Source 2 Engine that suggests that there may be RTX support coming to the program. One of the first games to be moved onto this engine also appears to have this new support, which could mean that Valve is looking to extend this compatibility with other games running on the engine.
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The specific games that have seen the early stages of this support so far include recent updates to DOTA 2 and Artifact, both of which have been updated with pieces of code that are labeled with RTX in the file names and strings. This could mean that the Valve is beginning to experiment with ray tracing in these titles, with possible plans of full implementation coming in future patches. If this is the case, then the result could be much higher fidelity graphics coming to these games for players with gaming rigs capable of running RTX.
Beyond the scope of the few games that have been found to include the new support so far, this could also mean that future Source 2 titles could start coming with ray tracing as a native function if the feature is compatible with the engine. Additionally, other titles like the VR experience Half-Life: Alyx could also be improved with RTX support, making the virtual world even more immersive than it already is. So, there are plenty of reasons for fans to be excited that Valve appears to be moving forward with adding these types of improvements to older titles as well as the newer ones.
Considering that fans have recently been worried that Valve's focus is still on Steam, instead of the development of new titles, these types of updates are a good sign. When it comes to tooling around with an engine like Source 2, it might take some time to see exactly how to best implement support for features like RTX. In that case, taking a focus on DOTA 2 and Artifact is a baby step towards reworking the engine as a whole, but it could lead to whole new ways to look at development of upcoming titles as well.