Update history

Valve has shipped 198 Counter-Strike 2 updates since the 2023-09-27 release, parsed from Valve's own notes and classified line by line. The 167 below carry more than a couple of lines and get a page of their own.

release cadence

198
updates
32
major
5.4
days between
5.4
days between, 12mo
2026-08-24
latest update

release day

2026

36 updates

Map Scripting Gains Custom HUD Layouts, a Scripted Player Camera and Bomb-Phase Events

This update is entirely Map Scripting. Scripted maps can now draw their own UI through custom_hud_layout entities — Panel, Label, Image and Button types styled with CSS, with no events or client-side scripting — and a new cs_player_camera entity controls a player's view without moving their pawn. The API adds events for the start and abort of bomb plants and defuses, plant timing and abort methods on the C4, entity move-type control and several CSPlayerPawn helpers, and deprecates planter and defuser on the bomb events. Script errors and unhandled promise rejections now reach the console.

  • scripting 40

Cache Loses an Outside A Boost, and Map Scripting Learns About Grenades and the Bomb

Cache gets fixes for gaps, collision and flickering assets and loses a boost spot in Outside A, while Shelter is updated to its latest Community Workshop version. A general fix stops grenades being thrown through level geometry. The rest is Map Scripting: new grenade projectile and planted-C4 classes with getters for thrower, planter, defuser and plant and defuse timings, new events for weapon pickups and bomb explosions, a TracePlayer helper and spawnable grenade projectiles. bounces is deprecated on OnGrenadeBounce, and RegisterCheatCommand now survives a script reload.

  • scripting 26
  • map 5
  • utility 1

Ranked Series Stickers Arrive Alongside a VACnet Evasion Fix

The Ranked Series stickers went on sale, with half of the royalties shared with players, teams and the tournament organizer. Valve also closed a hole that let malicious players avoid being processed by VACnet, and fixed Collection Catalog XP failing to claim for The Dead Hand Collection. Boulder, Fachwerk and Shelter picked up their latest Workshop revisions.

  • map 3
  • content 2
  • misc 2
  • scripting 1

The Bomb Now Interacts With Smokes and Fire

The C4 explosion now interacts with smoke grenade clouds and molotov fire, and the bomb's damage health preview appears once the bomb becomes audible rather than earlier. Fachwerk, Boulder and Debris took their latest Workshop revisions. Steam China builds gained a Workshop maps section and a Community Servers shortcut in the Play menu.

  • map 3
  • ui 2
  • weapon 1
  • utility 1

Call to Arms Opens for Fairy Tales, Cryptids and Pop Art

Valve opened submissions for one new weapon collection, Fairy Tales, and two new sticker collections, Cryptids and Pop Art. Items are submitted through the Counter-Strike 2 Workshop Tool, and creators must agree to the game's Supplemental Terms to be included. The previous Call to Arms-ory collections shipped the week before.

  • content 5
  • misc 4

New C4 Explosions Drop Their Guaranteed One-Point Damage Floor

The new C4 explosion model no longer guarantees a minimum of one point of damage across the whole map, and a bug that miscalculated that damage near boundaries between map areas is fixed. New C4 explosions also apply more force to dropped weapons. The patch fixes season medals missing their gold tint and the scoreboard failing to update while it is open.

  • weapon 3
  • misc 2
  • content 1
  • ui 1

Season Five Brings Cache In, Overpass Out, and a Reworked Bomb Explosion

Premier Season Five began with Cache entering the Active Duty pool in place of Overpass. Bomb damage is now applied from precomputed simulation values baked into the compiled map, and the explosion's shockwave expands outward from the centre rather than landing instantly. Four community maps left every mode and five arrived. Two weapon and two sticker collections from the Call to Arms announcement were added to the Armory.

  • map 10
  • scripting 8
  • content 5
  • misc 2

Cologne 2026 Major Shop Adds Sticker Price History, and Storage Gains Multi-Select

The Cologne 2026 Major Shop now displays the lowest and highest sticker prices from the last 7 days, and a stickers showcase was added to the Cologne 2026 Major Hub tile on the main menu. Storage Units deposit and retrieve UI gained multi-select functionality, and an error message now appears when a full inventory blocks redeeming Weekly Care Package rewards, Armory items, or Major Shop cart items. Number wrapping rules were also fixed in some languages.

  • misc 3
  • content 2

Remote-Spectator Flashbang Effects Move Under the HUD, and Boost Spots Get Clipped

Remote spectators now see flashbang effects render underneath the HUD, with a new convar to control the opacity. Clipping was updated on the map to prevent certain boost locations, and the map also pulled a Steam Workshop update. Players can now bookmark stickers in the Cologne 2026 Shop, and the patch includes general stability improvements.

  • utility 2
  • map 2
  • content 1
  • misc 1

Cologne 2026 Major Hub Opens, and Souvenir Skins Join Trade-Up Contracts

The IEM Cologne 2026 Major Hub launches with tournament items and the Pick'Em Challenge, alongside an upgradable Viewer Pass Coin. Souvenir-quality items can now be used in Trade Up Contracts, though their souvenir attributes are stripped and the result is a normal-quality item one tier higher. The update also fixes incorrect scoreboard timelines in overtime and missing pickup hint text on weapons, and increases spectator in-eye flash intensity.

  • misc 4
  • ui 3
  • content 1

Boosted Players Take Ladder Inaccuracy, and Jump Throws Get More Consistent

A new weapon_accuracy_stack_boost_limit applies ladder inaccuracy to players boosted on top of one another, defaulting to two. Grenade jump throws are more consistent and the jump-throw preview camera more accurate. Cache had player and grenade clipping adjusted around windows, window covers and the vent entrance, with window covers now showing collision and decals when shot. Roughly a dozen scripting methods were added for map makers.

  • scripting 16
  • misc 2
  • weapon 2
  • map 2

Cache Windows Get Bullet-Blocking Grating, and a Grenade-Cancel Trick Gets Fixed

Cache gained grating on some windows so they now block bullets, along with tweaks to player and grenade clipping and fixes for various holes. Fixed a case where a grenade throw could be cancelled after it had already started, near the end of the pin-pull animation. The update also adds a new round MVP anthem for NIGHTMODE II music kits, played at a 1-in-5 ratio.

  • map 4
  • misc 3
  • utility 1
  • content 1

NIGHTMODE II Music Kits Hit the Store, and Viewmodel FOV Now Networks Correctly

NIGHTMODE II Music Kits are now available for purchase in standard and StatTrak versions through the Store tab. A player's Viewmodel FOV setting now correctly networks to spectators and remote clients, and ragdolls no longer lose their death velocity when shot in certain body locations. Cache's Sandbags area swaps an orange wire spool for a white one, and Ancient's map guides now correctly load in its nighttime version.

  • map 5
  • misc 5
  • content 1
  • scripting 1

Aim Punch Is Capped at 90 Degrees, and Cache Gets a Map-Wide Clipping Pass

Aim punch is now limited to a maximum of 90 degrees. Cache received map-wide clipping fixes and geometry polish, including a fix for spots where a dropped bomb could become unreachable. The update also fixes dynamic shadows breaking in some spots and a shader compile error affecting older GPUs.

  • map 4
  • misc 4
  • audiovisual 1
  • weapon 1

The Bomb's Blast Radius Grows, and Cache Gets a Visibility Pass

The bomb explosion radius increased. Cache received lighting work around Vent, a reworked e-box on A site, a lowered Checkers entrance frame at B Main, and grenade and player clipping adjustments throughout. Crouch-jumping in confined spaces no longer pushes the camera through the ceiling, and smoke lighting is more consistent. A case where money was subtracted from the wrong player during bot takeover was fixed.

  • map 13
  • movement 2
  • utility 2
  • audiovisual 1

Cache Joins Competitive, Casual, Deathmatch and Retakes

Cache is now playable in Competitive, Casual, Deathmatch, and Retakes modes, alongside collision and shader fixes including a fix for overly dark railings on Mirage. The Talon and Karambit knives are now held correctly during the defuse animation, and several other workshop maps received their latest Community Workshop updates. A bug that let players end up holding no weapon after switching hands mid-throw has also been fixed.

  • map 6
  • audiovisual 5
  • utility 1

An Animation Pass Fixes Flickering XM1014 Shells and a Planted-Turn Stuck State

Fixed the XM1014's shells flickering at the start of a reload and a bug where players could get stuck in a planted-turn state. Several first-person and third-person animation issues were smoothed out, including foot IK transitions, crouch timing, and stutter-step pose changes. The update also fixes a random startup crash tied to non-default audio devices and corrects dropped silenced weapons not showing their silenced state.

  • audiovisual 10
  • ui 1
  • misc 1
  • weapon 1

Recoil Camera Motion Is Adjusted to Match CS:GO, While Bullet Trajectories Stay the Same

Camera motion caused by recoil is adjusted to more closely match CS:GO, though bullet trajectories continue to follow CS2 behavior. Players will also see the full camera effect from aim punch, such as getting shot, regardless of network latency, while its effect on bullet trajectories still applies immediately on the server.

  • audiovisual 3
  • weapon 1
  • network 1

Ladder-Climbing Exploit Closed Alongside a Halftime Crash Fix

A movement fix closes an exploit that let players silently climb ladders at run speed by tapping movement keys. The update also fixes a crash at halftime when switching from CT to T, plus knife-attack transition animations and Elites not firing in third-person. Viewmodel animations, weapon deploy logic, and ground smoothing at slope transitions were adjusted, and held grenades no longer inherit incorrect scale after being dropped and picked up.

  • audiovisual 4
  • misc 2
  • movement 1
  • utility 1

HE Grenade Throw Animation Fixed in a Round of Movement Polish

A fix corrects the viewmodel and world model animations for throwing HE grenades. The update also fixes fast weapon-switching while holding inspect, and polishes foot IK while idle, turning animations while planting, and the head-dip amount during counter-strafe animations.

  • audiovisual 6

Animation Polish Pass Fixes Weapon-Switch Pop and C4 Head Wobble

A batch of animation fixes addresses weapon-switch popping while running or after throwing a grenade, and head wobbling while planting C4. Wrong poses when backing into corners and in the main menu are fixed, missing knife draw animations were added, and third-person aim stuttering is smoothed out. A movement fix also stops players from climbing down ladders faster than intended.

  • audiovisual 8
  • movement 1

Every Third-Person Animation Re-Authored, and Ramp Height Made Consistent

All third-person animations were re-authored, several in response to player feedback, and in-air crouch transitions were smoothed in both views. Player height on ramps no longer depends on the direction of approach — which Valve notes may have changed grenade lineups on sloped surfaces. Player occlusion now uses a GPU query so players stop clipping through thin walls. Vertical audio occlusion is more gradual at transition edges in Nuke and Vertigo.

  • audiovisual 13
  • misc 6
  • map 2
  • weapon 2

Reloading Now Discards Your Remaining Ammo for a Fresh Magazine

Reloading a magazine-fed weapon now discards whatever ammo remains in it and pulls a fresh, full magazine from reserves, with reserve ammo counts and per-weapon magazine tuning adjusted to match. The current weapon's fill level now displays below the ammo count. Limited map guides are also now available in Competitive and Retakes, capped at 30 nodes and usable only in the first 5 rounds of each half.

  • weapon 4
  • misc 4
  • ui 1

The Dead Hand Collection Arrives With 17 Finishes and 22 New Gloves

The Dead Hand Collection launches with 17 finishes from community contributors and 22 all-new gloves as rare special items, accessible through the Dead Hand Terminal as a weekly drop. The update also fixes a pixel gap in a door Outside Long on Dust 2 and updates a map to its latest Community Workshop version.

  • content 2
  • map 2

Listed Market Items Stay Usable, and Inferno's Balcony Is Extended

Items listed for sale on the Steam Community Market now remain in your inventory and usable while they are listed, and the Terminal gained a maximum offer limit that filters what the Arms Dealer shows. Inferno's balcony at Bombsite A was extended and its graveyard closed off, with clipping adjusted at the small window beside Second Mid Balcony. The rest is scripting: ammo getters and setters, angular velocity, and several fixed methods.

  • scripting 14
  • map 5
  • misc 2
  • weapon 1

Workshop Maps Can Now Save Up to 1MB of Data via Steam Cloud

Workshop maps can now persist up to 1MB of save data across installs using Steam Cloud, with the size limit configurable via a new convar. Scripting also gains a new damage event that fires after damage is calculated but before armor and health are modified, replacing Instance.OnBeforePlayerDamage, plus new CSPlayerPawn input-state methods. Map guides written for de_ancient now also work on de_ancient_night.

  • scripting 14
  • map 1

A Windows 10 Performance Fix Leads a Small Stability Update

A performance issue mainly affecting Windows 10 users with recent Intel CPUs has been mitigated. The update fixes the Delete Item inventory option not working and visual corruption on iron sights for AMD GPUs, and also fixes Overpass's party balloons.

  • misc 4
  • map 1

Clipping Gets Adjusted Around a New Drop and an Old Connector

Player clipping was adjusted around a new drop location, and grenade clipping was tweaked around a connector e-box hole and an old drop, alongside a Community Workshop update for this update's maps. Fixed a case where switching first-person spectator targets reset viewmodel animations, and a performance issue caused by physics calculations done far from the map's origin.

  • map 3
  • misc 2

Mid-Air HE Grenade Damage Near the Ground No Longer Miscalculates

HE grenades that explode just above the ground no longer have their damage calculated as if they had hit the ground. Community maps can now prompt players to save modified settings like radar and viewmodel choices via host_writeconfig_with_prompt, though they are also restricted to a smaller list of allowed console commands. Stronghold received a Community Workshop update, and exploding chickens got a performance optimization.

  • misc 3
  • map 2
  • utility 1
  • audiovisual 1

Molotovs That Bounce Off a Player Get a Fuse Extension to Stop Air-Bursting

A molotov or incendiary grenade that bounces off an enemy now gets a one-time fuse extension so it doesn't air-burst before ever touching the world. This patch also fixes a performance issue that occurred when running CS2 without a sound device, alongside various knife sound adjustments and a fix for broken cl_ent_bbox visualization on some entities. Nuke, Warden, and Sanctum receive their latest Community Workshop updates.

  • map 3
  • audiovisual 2
  • misc 2
  • utility 1

A Batch of Erroneous VAC Bans Gets Reversed

Fixed an issue that led a small number of users to erroneously receive a VAC ban, and those bans have been reversed. Landing vertical velocity now affects landing speed penalties similar to sv_legacy_jump stamina. Anubis received player clipping adjustments and an updated radar minimap to match recent changes.

  • map 3
  • misc 2
  • movement 1
  • ui 1

Season Four Opens With Anubis Back In, Train Out, and a Jump Rework

Premier Season Four began with Anubis returning to the Active Duty pool and Train leaving it. The MP5-SD and MP7 gained damage and lost some damage fall-off, and both dropped $100 in price, as did the PP-Bizon. Landing is now timed with subtick precision, jumping and landing no longer affect stamina, and any jump pressed inside the bunnyhop window counts as a successful hop. Four community maps left every mode and five arrived.

  • weapon 16
  • misc 12
  • map 10
  • audiovisual 5

2025

46 updates

SG 556's Deploy Animation Wiggle Gets Fixed

A fix removes a wiggle at the end of the SG 556 deploy animation. TrueView is now disabled while watching a live playcast to match the on-server observing experience, and a bug causing incorrect post-processing effects when switching observer targets was also fixed, alongside general stability improvements.

  • misc 3
  • weapon 1

Planting C4 on Top of a Teammate Gets Patched Out

A fix removes the ability to plant C4 while standing on top of a teammate. The Budapest 2025 Coin now correctly appears on the scoreboard, and the Imperial Esports sticker artwork for Budapest 2025 was updated. The update also fixes transparent charms rendering incorrectly on planted C4 or dropped weapons, and a replay bug causing infinite shell-casing effects.

  • content 2
  • weapon 1
  • ui 1
  • misc 1

Sticker Slab Charms Debut, and Inferno's Grenade-Blocking Skybox Gets Fixed

A new Sticker Slab charm lets players seal any sticker onto a weapon and later crack it open to recover the sticker. Fixed a skybox on Inferno that was blocking grenades, and fixed cases where clients could mispredict jump button presses and jump apexes. The patch also raises the maximum effective sv_maxvelocity to 16,384 units per second and enables the pulsing light on the C4 view model.

  • misc 7
  • content 2
  • movement 2
  • map 1

TrueView Demo Playback Reconstructs the Observed Player's Original Experience

A new TrueView demo playback mode re-runs client-side prediction to reconstruct what the observed player actually experienced, including damage prediction effects, though very slow motion playback can still show small timing differences. It is disabled by default on old demos unless cl_demo_predict 2 is set. The update also fixes surf air acceleration and ramp jump-apex misidentification, an inconsistent sniper rifle unscope delay, and G3SG1 bolt animations.

  • misc 6
  • weapon 4
  • movement 1

Retake Loadout Cards Get Dual Berettas and an HE Grenade Swap

Retakes loadout cards now randomly offer the M4A1-S or M4A4 when a player owns both, add Dual Berettas to the T Blind Fire card, add Body Armor to three CT cards, and swap the Flashbang for an HE Grenade on the CT Enemy card. Player movement prediction has also been improved when colliding with other moving players, and scope in/out sounds now play immediately for the local player. Idle animation bugs on the CZ75-Auto, SSG 08, AUG, and Galil AR have been fixed.

  • misc 5
  • weapon 2
  • movement 1
  • ui 1

Retakes Parties Grow to Four Players, and a Bad Spawn Point Bug Is Fixed

Matchmaking party size for Retakes now allows up to 4 players. A bug where players joining a Retakes round during freeze time could spawn at the wrong point is fixed, and bot manager logic now makes room for players by kicking dead bots or bots not controlled by a human first. General stability improvements were also made.

  • misc 3
  • map 1

Retakes Becomes an Official Game Mode, and Five Covert Skins Can Be Traded for a Knife

Retakes is now an official game mode on Defusal Group Alpha and Delta maps. A new trade-in system lets players exchange five StatTrak Covert items for a StatTrak Knife, or five regular Covert items for a regular Knife or Gloves, all from one collection. Inferno's top of Quad and area under Balcony were adjusted for visibility, and a bug where multiple active smokes broke Molotov interactions has been fixed.

  • map 5
  • misc 4
  • content 2
  • utility 1

King Crasswater and Queen Ava Stickers Get Clarity Updates

The King Crasswater and Queen Ava stickers were updated for clarity, and skinning fixes were made to Driver Gloves and Sport Gloves. The update also fixes incorrect damage report data at the end of rounds and a crash that occurred when playing back some demo files.

  • misc 3
  • weapon 1
  • content 1

C4 Stops Detonating During Halftime or After the Match Ends

The C4 no longer detonates in the middle of halftime intermission or after a match has ended, and defusing it now lowers your viewmodel, blocks scoping, and delays firing for 150ms afterward. This update also brings the latest Source 2 engine code, with reworked bullet penetration and particle/sound processing that reduces CPU usage while shooting. Scripters gain new enums, gear slot support, and hit-group data in bullet traces, and raindrops now clear from weapons when switching to a dry inspect view.

  • scripting 14
  • ui 5
  • misc 4
  • weapon 2

C4 Defusing Now Blocks Scoping and Delays Your Next Shot by 150ms

Defusing the C4 now lowers your viewmodel weapon, prevents scoping, and delays firing for 150ms after you stop defusing. This update also moves to the latest Source 2 engine code, reworking bullet penetration and particle/sound processing to reduce CPU usage during gunfights. Scripters using the API gain new enums for round-end reasons, hit groups, and damage types, plus a CSWeaponData.GetGearSlot function.

  • scripting 14
  • misc 4
  • ui 4
  • weapon 1

AUG and SG 553 Scope Dots Shrink, With New Options to Adjust Scope Thickness

The AUG and SG 553 scope dot sizes have been adjusted, and new game options let players customize dot scale and sniper rifle scope thickness. A bullet penetration regression is fixed, and for map scripters, gun reload and fire callbacks now correctly fire for the XM1014, Nova, and Sawed-Off, alongside fixes for script-reload callback bugs. Palacio, Rooftop, and Golden all receive their latest Community Workshop updates.

  • scripting 4
  • misc 3
  • weapon 2
  • map 1

Sniper Scopes Show Inaccuracy, and the Scripting API Grows by Thirty Methods

Sniper scopes now represent inaccuracy, and a pixel-offset bug affecting scopes wider than one pixel was fixed. The Zeus's kill streak bonus is capped in deathmatch, and the scoreboard counts deaths caused by the C4. Jura, Grail, Dogtown and Brewery left every game mode while Palacio, Golden, Rooftop and Transit arrived. Most of the update is for map makers: roughly thirty new scripting methods and callbacks, with several older ones deprecated.

  • scripting 41
  • content 5
  • weapon 4
  • misc 4

R8 Revolver Gets Rescaled Geometry, and Mirage's Ladder-Hole Collision Is Fixed

The R8 Revolver's geometry and animation scale were updated, and collision around Mirage's top-of-ladder hole was fixed. The sv_subtick_movement_view_angles convar now sends subtick view angles only alongside other subtick events instead of every frame they change. Vulkan defragmentation was also enabled to reduce texture streaming overhead.

  • misc 2
  • movement 1
  • weapon 1

Per-Event Script Registration Replaces the Catch-All Game Event Hook

Instance.OnGameEvent was removed in favour of registering for each event individually — round start and end, bomb plant and defuse, player connect, kill and chat, gun fire and grenade throw — which allows stronger typing. Several crashes were fixed, including one when RunScriptInput was triggered with a null caller. A train_zoo.vmap shipped with all of Train's assets as examples for mapmakers.

  • scripting 34

Ancient and Train Receive Player Clipping Fixes

Ancient and Train both get various player clipping fixes. The update also fixes abnormally low velocity while walking up ramps and a case where wiggling the mouse could prevent a player from starting to move.

  • map 2
  • misc 1
  • movement 1

Genesis Terminal Items Can Now Be Unsealed in Belgium, Netherlands, and France

Players in Belgium, Netherlands, and France can now unseal their Sealed Genesis Terminal items, and purchasing errors are fixed for users with Steam Wallet funds in a dozen currencies. The update also fixes a GetTraceHit crash, the type declaration for Entity.Teleport's newAngles parameter, and improves the timestep-independence of subtick movement acceleration.

  • misc 3
  • scripting 3
  • movement 1

Genesis Collection Arrives Alongside a New JavaScript Scripting System

The Genesis Collection launches with 17 community-made finishes, available through the weekly Genesis Uplink Terminal drop. The update also adds cs_script, a JavaScript-based scripting system for Counter-Strike maps, with a script_zoo.vmap example map. Spectators can now inspect another player's loadout with zoom and pan controls, and every grenade gets unique higher-fidelity draw, inspect, pin-pull, and throw sounds.

  • content 2
  • scripting 2
  • ui 2
  • audiovisual 1

Six Knives Get Viewmodel Animation Fixes, and Agency and Grail Update

Viewmodel animation fixes landed for the Bowie, Bayonet, Kukri, Nomad, Paracord, and Skeleton knives. Agency and Grail were both updated to their latest Community Workshop version. The patch also improves performance when firing weapons and fixes a case where viewmodel motion from view-angle changes depended on which direction you were facing.

  • map 2
  • audiovisual 1
  • weapon 1
  • misc 1

A Sound-Device Crash and Underwater Audio Bugs Get Fixed

This patch fixes a crash that occurred when changing sound devices, along with sounds playing incorrectly as players move through water and player sounds failing to visualize correctly on the minimap. A bug causing viewmodel motion to misbehave at certain frame rates during view angle changes is also fixed. Several maps, including Ancient, Agency, and Dogtown, received grenade and player clipping fixes plus workshop updates.

  • misc 5
  • map 3
  • utility 2
  • ui 1

Matchmaking Stops Avoiding Nighttime Ancient Servers

A bug that caused matchmaking to avoid servers running the nighttime version of Ancient has been fixed, along with grenade lineup visuals that were restored on the map. Several knives get deploy and inspect animation fixes, including the Stiletto, Butterfly, Talon, Flip, and Bayonet, and overlapping smoke clouds no longer prematurely extinguish molotov fire. Looping weapon inspects now correctly network to spectators.

  • audiovisual 6
  • map 3
  • misc 2
  • movement 1

Wallbanging Through the Plywood in Cave Is Restored on Ancient

Ancient's cave plywood can once again be wallbanged, and the house roof decorations near CT spawn have been reverted to their previous look. A bug that caused mispredicted shots when the attack button was held across a round respawn is fixed, along with fullscreen windowed mode failing to offer extreme aspect ratio resolutions or properly stretch to fill the screen. Relative mouse motion on Linux is also corrected.

  • map 7
  • misc 7

Ancient Gets Nighttime Versions and a Materials Refresh

Ancient received nighttime versions, all its materials refreshed to the latest CS2 shaders, and new blending options including wetness and moss, with an ancient_zoo.vmap shipped for mapmakers. Deploy and quick-inspect animations were improved for every knife and for the AK, Galil, AUG, PP-Bizon, AWP, M4A4 and M4A1-S, and the deploy inspect delay was removed for most weapons. Rendering performance improved across most maps.

  • audiovisual 7
  • map 4
  • misc 3
  • content 2

A Primed-Grenade Inspect Exploit Is Fixed, Along With Bhop Penalty Timing

A bug that let players inspect a grenade after priming it has been fixed, along with the bhop jump-spam penalty continuing to accumulate even when jump wasn't pressed; that clock now starts the instant a jump input registers rather than at the end of the subtick. The Molotov once again uses its correct fire particle, and incendiary and smoke grenades play their correct sounds.

  • utility 4
  • movement 2
  • misc 1
  • map 1

A Reload-Then-Redeploy Could Fire Weapons Early, and That's Now Fixed

Fixed a case where weapons could fire prematurely due to a redeploy after reloading, and a case where air strafing produced higher than usual velocities. Speculative fixes address a dropped bomb sometimes appearing in the wrong location and holstered weapons appearing attached to the deployed weapon. The AWP also received material fixes, and a gap at bombsite B's first stack was fixed along with clipping on the T fountain stairs.

  • weapon 4
  • misc 4
  • map 2
  • movement 1

Every First-Person Animation Replaced, and Train Gets a Pass of New Cover

The animation system is being upgraded to AnimGraph2, and this update replaces every first-person animation — weapon deploy, firing, reload and inspect — along with all chicken animations. Reload and draw sounds were reworked alongside them. Shotgun reloads no longer resume on their own after being interrupted, and damage prediction while moving was improved. Train received new cover on A site, in Upper B halls and outside Z on B, breakable glass on B doors, and a raised CT platform in B.

  • map 26
  • audiovisual 6
  • weapon 2
  • misc 2

Premier Season Three Swaps Anubis for Overpass, and the MP9 Takes a Recoil Nerf

Premier Season Three is now live, with Overpass entering the Active Duty map pool and Anubis leaving it. The MP9 gets increased recoil magnitude and substantially reduced jumping accuracy, while incendiary grenade fire now spreads more rapidly. Counter-Terrorists in Competitive modes also earn a $50 team award for every Terrorist eliminated in a round.

  • map 2
  • misc 1
  • utility 1
  • weapon 1

Lobby Voice Chat Arrives for Premier Pick/Ban, and the Vitality Autograph Capsule Ships

In-game lobby voice chat was added, including during the Premier Pick/Ban phase, and buy binds are now disabled during the halftime freeze phase. The Champions Autographs Capsule is available for purchase following Team Vitality's win, and Highlight Souvenir Packages can now be acquired for Playoff matches. Bad command flows in point_servercommand entities, community maps not reloading with the restart command, and scoreboard text formatting in Japanese were also fixed.

  • misc 4
  • content 2
  • ui 1

Body Shot Impact Sounds Get Faster, Louder Feedback, and Deathmatch Allows Unbalanced Teams

Body shot impact sounds now play with less delay and briefly lower weapon fire and ambience volume so the feedback stays audible, and Deathmatch mode now allows unbalanced teams. The update also shortens the AK-47's fire sound and fixes molotov fire showing through the AK-47 viewmodel and sticker lighting on the AK-47 in left-hand mode.

  • audiovisual 6
  • misc 1

Defusal Group Search Swap Between Anubis and Vertigo Gets Fixed

Fixed a bug where searching for Defusal Group Alpha in matchmaking led to Anubis and Defusal Group Delta led to Vertigo. Vertigo and Anubis both received updates to their latest Community Workshop version. The patch also remasters various UI sounds and includes crash fixes plus stability improvements for Linux systems running SDL_VIDEODRIVER=wayland.

  • map 5
  • misc 2
  • audiovisual 1

Grail Gets a Workshop Update as a Fire-Through-Smoke Bug Is Fixed

The community map Grail is updated to its latest Workshop version. A fix stops fire from being visible through smoke, and mission progress no longer appears to reset when reconnecting to an in-progress match. The update also includes UI sound fixes and general stability improvements.

  • misc 2
  • audiovisual 2
  • map 1

Weekly Missions Arrive, and the Map Groups Are Reorganised

Players now receive one mission a week, entered from the main or play menu, expiring after seven days and rewarding XP. The Casual and Deathmatch map groups were reorganised into Defusal Group Alpha, Defusal Group Delta, a Community Map Group and a Hostage Group. Basalt, Edin, Palais and Whistle left every mode while Jura, Grail, Agency, Dogtown and Brewery arrived. A Main Menu Ambience Volume setting was added.

  • map 7
  • misc 4
  • audiovisual 4
  • ui 1

Inferno Rebuilt Toward Its CS:GO Proportions

Banana was adjusted to more closely match its CS:GO size, and backgrounds behind T ramp, Pit, Bombsite B and upper B were simplified. See-through grating outside Z door and the fences at the top of Ivy were replaced with solid versions, and the overhead roof rail in A site was shortened to make utility easier to throw in. Player and grenade collision were adjusted throughout. Three weapon collections entered the Weekly Care Package and four left.

  • map 18
  • content 5

Dust II's Radar Gets More Accurate, and Premier Party Restrictions Ease

The logic determining how far apart players' CS Ratings can be to party together in matchmaking was adjusted, letting most Premier Season One parties stay together into Season Two. The Dust II radar image was updated to be more accurate, and a Get Service Medal element was added to the main menu profile card. The update also fixes missing display medals on some profiles and prediction errors from pressing inspect or reload.

  • ui 3
  • content 1
  • misc 1

Radar Scale Snaps Faster to New Threats, and AUG Scope Glitches Near Water Get Fixed

The dynamic radar now snaps to size faster when spotting a new enemy or the C4, while still shrinking gradually as they disappear, and the radar scale settings UI is fixed to support its full 0.25 to 1.0 range. The update also fixes an AUG scope stencil filter bug near water and wall clipping caused by misprediction smoothing.

  • map 3
  • misc 2
  • ui 2
  • weapon 1

Season Two Swaps Train for Vertigo, Cuts the M4A4, and Nerfs SMG Crouch Accuracy

Premier Season Two opened with Train entering the Active Duty pool and Vertigo leaving it, and every player's CS Rating recalibrated on their Season One performance. The M4A4 fell to $2,900 and the FAMAS to $1,950 with improved accuracy, while the MP9, MP5-SD and MP7 lost crouching accuracy. The AUG and SG scope dot was adjusted to work better at range. A dynamic radar zoom option now grows and shrinks to keep teammates and the bomb in view.

  • misc 4
  • map 4
  • weapon 3
  • ui 3

Steam Workshop Map Annotations Can Now Be Updated After Submission

Map makers can now update existing Steam Workshop annotations using workshop_annotation_submit with the submission's ID, which gets embedded in the file after the first update for easier future edits. The update also makes spectators' follow-recoil view obey the target's crosshair setting when it is shown, plus a minor CPU-bound performance optimization.

  • content 1
  • weapon 1
  • misc 1

Train's A Site Opens Up Between Hell and Tunnels, and T Spawn Moves Back

Train's A bombsite gets a wider opening between Hell and Tunnels, a newly opened container door near Ivy and Tunnels, and T spawns pushed back slightly, alongside general visual and gap fixes. A regression that blocked immediate weapon inspection right after deploying has been fixed, along with a bug that let ragdolls spawn with extreme initial velocities. Steam Game Recording timelines now mark individual matches.

  • map 7
  • misc 3
  • weapon 1
  • content 1

Inferno's Balcony Stairs Get Clipping Fixes, and a Silencer State Bug Is Patched

Clipping was adjusted on the stairs under Inferno's balcony, and a regression affecting grenade interactions with ragdolls is fixed. The update also fixes a bug where combining the +attack2 and +lookatweapon bindings could leave a silenced weapon in an inconsistent silencer state, alongside legacy SSG-08 and Dual Elites model issues.

  • weapon 3
  • map 1
  • content 1
  • utility 1

2024

57 updates

Rare Inspect Animations Adjusted for the AK-47 and Fixed for the Desert Eagle

The rare AK-47 inspect animation's rarity was adjusted, and a regression affecting the rare Desert Eagle inspect animation was fixed. Clipping on Inferno's B site scaffolding was adjusted, and a crash tied to the give item_assaultsuit command was fixed. The patch also fixes a team select screen issue on servers with no auto-select time limit.

  • misc 3
  • weapon 2
  • map 1

Map Guides Come to the Workshop, and Warmup Stops Dropping Weapons

Map guides can now be submitted to and subscribed from the Steam Workshop, with a selector for which one loads in practice mode and annotation nodes visible on the radar. Changing teams during warmup no longer drops your weapons and carries a two-second cooldown, with server settings controlling what drops. Explosions throw weapons around more reliably when several are stacked. The Shanghai 2024 Major Champions Capsule went on sale.

  • misc 9
  • weapon 7
  • map 5
  • content 1

A Visibility Exploit in Boost Player Contrast Gets Fixed, and Overpass's Heaven Gets a Wall

The Boost Player Contrast visibility option could reveal parts of players or weapons through thin surfaces; that bug is fixed. Overpass's Heaven area replaces a railing with a solid wall and gets additional visibility improvements, and Pick'Em picks are now open for the Shanghai Major's Elimination Stage. MIBR's player sticker items are updated to swap Lucaozy's autograph for brnz4n's.

  • misc 5
  • map 5
  • content 1
  • weapon 1

The Shanghai Major Hub Opens, With Free Pick'Em Picks for Prime Players

The Shanghai Major Hub is now live, letting players buy a Viewer Pass for an upgradable Shanghai 2024 Coin, follow the Active Pass Leaderboard, and play the Pick'Em Challenge, which Prime players can now enter for free. A new music kit, Ay Hey by Perfect World, is available for purchase, and players can rent weapons from any previous CS:GO case. Train received added blockers in B to remove unfair angles along with gap fixes and collision fidelity upgrades.

  • misc 8
  • map 5
  • content 3
  • weapon 1

Disconnected Players Stop Leaving Ghost Models, and Maps Get Gaps and Holes Fixed

Fixed a case where a disconnected player's CT model could linger as a poltergeist, and disconnecting players now ragdoll immediately instead of lingering for 10 seconds. Lag compensation now runs when shooting teammates with mp_teammates_are_enemies enabled even without friendly fire on. A map pass fixes gaps, z-fighting, holes, texture bugs, a stuck spot, and a case where a T could spawn in the air, plus ladder movement and a ranks-display layout fix.

  • map 9
  • misc 3
  • weapon 1
  • ui 1

A Map Gets Collision and Gap Fixes Around B Site

This update removes an unintended boost in B halls, adds grenade collision to out-of-bounds areas, and adds collision to a broken ceiling at B site. It also fixes a world gap near the longdog exit and a collision type on an oilcar in B site.

  • map 5

Train's Cratestack Outside Longdog Becomes Climbable

Players can now get on top of the cratestack outside Longdog on Train, and a new physics clip closes a platform gap in T spawn for players who kept falling through it. Player collision on the radio prop is disabled, its sound updated, and the orange train on B site gets higher-fidelity collision. Lighting, texture stretching, and footstep sound bugs on mud surfaces are also fixed.

  • map 10
  • misc 1

Damage Prediction Arrives, and Train Returns to Competitive

Damage prediction lets your client play hit effects without waiting for the server, which can make shooting feel considerably more responsive at the risk of occasionally being wrong. Body-shot and head-shot effects are off by default, kill ragdolls are on, and none of it runs at high ping. Train came back to Competitive, Casual and Deathmatch alongside Basalt and Edin, while Thera, Mills, Assembly and Memento left every mode. Train also shipped a map guide of four Terrorist grenade line-ups.

  • map 36
  • misc 5
  • audiovisual 4
  • utility 3

Network Quality Measurement Reworked to Track Missed Ticks

The method for measuring network quality changed to count how often a tick is missed due to loss or jitter, rather than the previous approach. A new detailed network quality display option shows the raw packet loss and jitter numbers. Clock synchronization was improved to handle downstream jitter bursts, and lag compensation now correctly accounts for the buffering-to-smooth-over-packet-loss setting mid-spray.

  • misc 3
  • content 1
  • network 1

C4 Could Be Defused From Any Height Until This Patch Fixed It

A bug that let players defuse the C4 from any height, even far off the ground, has been fixed, alongside a fix for lag compensation rewinding hitboxes too far back mid-spray. Activating an Armory Pass no longer grants the first Armory Credit immediately; all 40 credits must now be earned by playing and gaining XP. A map also received a broad collision and lighting cleanup pass, including fixes for stuck spots and a gap at the bottom of B ramp.

  • map 11
  • misc 4
  • audiovisual 3
  • content 1

Surf Servers Get an Opt-Out for Jump Precision Changes

A new sv_jump_precision_enable setting lets servers running custom modes like surf opt out of the jump precision improvements. The update also fixes a damage report display bug in Casual and Deathmatch and makes inventory inspect animations match in-game viewmodel and FOV settings.

  • ui 1
  • utility 1
  • weapon 1
  • movement 1

Jump Height No Longer Varies With Map Position, and C4 Defusing Takes Priority Over Pickups

Jump height used to vary by up to 0.03125 units depending on distance from the map's origin; that inconsistency is fixed, along with related bugs in landing near max jump height and the cl_showpos jump height display. Weapon pickup near a planted C4 now prioritizes defusing over accidentally picking up a gun, and an HE grenade exploding inside a smoke cloud now clears the smoke screen effect from players caught in its blast. Dust2 also received a geometry gap fix.

  • movement 5
  • misc 2
  • weapon 1
  • utility 1

A Wall-Bang Exploit Gets Patched, and Prior Majors Get Their Own Watch Tab

Fixed a wall-bang exploit and a bad collision interaction between grenades and a map prop. The Zeus x27 no longer misses its death yelp on headshots, and an erroneous shock effect during client-side shooting is fixed. Prior Major results are now available in a new Majors tab in the Watch menu, and localization strings were added for location callouts.

  • map 4
  • misc 2
  • weapon 2
  • ui 1

Animated Steam Avatars Load Again, and a Low-Memory Startup Warning Arrives

A regression that broke animated Steam avatar loading has been fixed. The game now shows a startup warning when launched with low available memory or a limited pagefile, since that can cause instability or crashes. The update also fixes mixed-resolution rendering resetting on map changes, several biplanar mapping and Workshop Tools lighting-compile bugs, and inconsistent checkbox behavior when moving items into or out of Storage Units.

  • audiovisual 7
  • ui 2

Mirage's Apartments Get a Disappearing-Geometry Fix

A fix addresses disappearing geometry in Mirage's apartments area. The update also includes performance optimizations for hierarchies of unchanged entities and general stability improvements.

  • misc 2
  • map 1

Teammate Colors Now Lock In Before Pick and Ban, and Tracers Get a Low-Graphics Fallback

Teammate colors are now assigned on official servers as soon as all players press Accept, ensuring correct colors during the Pick/Ban phase and Warmup. Particle effects like tracers now fall back to mixed resolution for better performance on low graphics settings with MSAA disabled. Lighting artifacts in various interior areas were improved when compiling maps, and Charms reactivity physics were adjusted to better match weapon animations.

  • audiovisual 2
  • misc 1
  • content 1

The Armory Opens, and Charms Arrive as a New Item Type

The Armory went live in the store with an Armory Pass that converts XP into credits redeemable for items, alongside three weapon collections, two charm collections and the Gallery Case. Charms are a new item type applied by drag-and-drop, one per weapon, removable with a Charm Detachment. Character animation received extensive work — foot pinning, ladder posing, slope handling and the wide-leg posing when traversing. Flashbangs and HE grenades no longer detonate early on exceeding their bounce limit.

  • map 19
  • audiovisual 16
  • content 11
  • misc 8

Jump Commands Stop Dropping Under Poor Network Conditions

Jump and other commands were sometimes ignored under poor network conditions; that case is fixed, along with a bug causing inconsistent jump heights. A bug where client player collision stayed disabled after a ragdoll interaction from the previous round is fixed, and Linux users no longer hang when opening the pause menu.

  • movement 2
  • misc 1
  • content 1

A Stuck-Bomb and Clipping Sweep Across the Map Pool

This update is almost entirely map maintenance: repeated C4 stuck spots closed, pixel walks and pixel peeks removed, wall penetration fixed around arches, and a boost spot in pit by A site taken out. Collision on vans and props was adjusted for smoother movement, grenade clipping tuned in several places, and missing handrail collision restored. A view-jittering issue when jumping on a crate near palace was fixed.

  • map 24

Hardware-Assisted Counter-Strafing Now Gets Players Kicked From Official Servers

Valve official servers now detect certain movement and shooting input automation, such as hardware-assisted counter-strafing, and will kick players caught using it. The jump-throw confirmation grunt sound can now be heard by nearby players. Valve has also begun initial testing of VacNet 3.0 on a limited set of matches.

  • movement 3
  • misc 1

Tagging Effects Get Delayed to Cut Down on Damage Teleportation

Tagging effects are now slightly delayed to reduce cases where players feel teleported when taking damage, configurable via sv_predictable_damage_tag_ticks. Fixed a bug where players could start the bomb-plant animation outside of bomb sites, and a bug causing the R8 Revolver's barrel to rotate erroneously. Two maps received Community Workshop updates, and loading times for the Settings and Play menus were reduced.

  • weapon 3
  • map 2
  • ui 1

Dead Players Can No Longer Pick Up Ground Weapons

Dead players are no longer allowed to pick up weapons lying on the ground, and boosting a teammate on your head now restricts how high they can jump afterward. Casual mode now awards bonus XP for dealing damage each round, and level-change votes in Casual, Deathmatch, and Arms Race are restricted to the match end or opening moments rather than allowed at any time. The post-round damage report and mini scoreboard also got legibility improvements.

  • misc 4
  • ui 3
  • weapon 2
  • map 2

London Joins the Server List, and Fire Burns Through Thin Walls Less Easily

New official game servers were added in London, and fire effects now penetrate thin walls less. A crate stack outside CT spawn heading toward bombsite A was modified, and two maps received Community Workshop updates plus general clipping adjustments. Profiles now display 2024 Copenhagen Major trophies.

  • map 4
  • misc 4

Bombsite A Clipping Fixes Let Players Jump on Crates Again

Clipping on crates at bombsite A was fixed so players can jump on top again, and clipping on the ends of the bombsite A catwalk was fixed to stop players from walking off the edge. An occasional first-person camera jolt when throwing grenades was also fixed.

  • map 2
  • utility 1

Community Servers Can Now Load the Latest Workshop Map Version, Even in Official Map Groups

Community servers can now load the latest Workshop version of a map even when other versions exist in official map groups, and a map is updated to its latest Community Workshop version. The update also fixes an empty radio-command string that played when planted C4 was seconds from detonating and G-Sync detection in non-windowed fullscreen mode.

  • misc 3
  • map 1
  • weapon 1

Game Recording Arrives as a Built-In Steam Clipping Feature

A new Game Recording feature lets players clip gameplay moments directly through Steam, either automatically in the background or with a hotkey. Recordings include a timeline auto-filled with markers for events like kills and deaths, and players can add their own markers. The feature is launching through an opt-in beta.

  • misc 2
  • weapon 1

Animated MVP Panels for Premier, and a Frame Pacing Settings Section

The MVP panel was updated in every mode, with all-new animated panels in Premier and several new MVP conditions. Per-map skill groups in Competitive are now revealed after two wins on a map. Advanced Video gained a Frame Pacing section with G-Sync status and separate in-game and in-menu FPS caps, and startup popups now flag a display running below its maximum refresh rate. Thera, Mills, Memento, Assembly and Pool Day joined the community rotation.

  • ui 11
  • map 7
  • misc 3
  • network 1

Voice Chat Hitching Drops, and Command Pacing Adjusts for Jitter

In-game voice chat hitching is mostly eliminated, and Push to Talk is streamlined to avoid the first-use hitch, though some users may still hit it once. User command pacing now adjusts automatically so commands arrive earlier under jittery or lossy connections. A weapon inspect-while-reloading animation bug and low-resolution teammate health legibility were also fixed.

  • audiovisual 3
  • misc 1
  • ui 1

HE Grenade Blast Visibility Fixed, and a New Dynamic Shadows Setting Arrives

A fix removes one-way visibility for players caught inside HE grenade explosions. The update adds a separate Dynamic Shadows video setting with Sun Only and All options, and reduces HUD hitching when new elements appear. Spectator health bars now expand into numeric values, and the Bowie Knife view model gains a left hand.

  • ui 2
  • audiovisual 2
  • utility 1

C4 Stops Getting Stuck Outside the Map, and Deathmatch Scoring Is Fixed

The C4 could get stuck outside the playable area; that bug is fixed, along with a case where Deathmatch and Arms Race scores weren't incrementing correctly. Players could also clip their first-person camera through ceilings, which has been corrected. The patch also notes various stability improvements.

  • misc 3
  • weapon 1

Joystick Input Now Off by Default, and Locked Steam Accounts Barred From Secure Servers

Joystick input is now ignored by default, though it can be restored with the -joy launch option. Steam accounts with an active account lock can no longer play on secure Counter-Strike servers. The update also fixes the console toggle key breaking after a Premier pick/ban phase, black weapon finishes on certain graphics configurations, and excessive viewmodel bobbing on Linux.

  • misc 5
  • ui 2
  • weapon 1

Molotov Flames Shrink Over Time, and the M4A4 Drops to $3,000

The pillar of flame from Molotovs and Incendiaries now shortens as it burns, its duration and spread were cut, and its price fell from $600 to $500. The M4A4 dropped from $3,100 to $3,000, and the Terrorist award for a planted-but-defused bomb fell from $800 to $600. Mirage's bombsite A gained a catwalk connecting to back of A, lost the connector between back of A and elevators, and had the site slightly resized. Kilowatt case openers can now rent the whole collection.

  • misc 11
  • map 11
  • ui 6
  • economy 3

Bot Takeover Death Screens Now Match Normal Play, and Scoreboard Buttons Get Fixed

The death experience during bot takeover now matches a normal death, and several bugs in looping through bot takeover spectator targets were fixed. Scoreboard buttons that weren't working as designed are repaired, along with an in-air kill feed icon bug and a HUD offset after watching a demo. Teammate name opacity near the crosshair was also reduced.

  • ui 3
  • misc 2
  • weapon 1

HE Grenades Can Finally Break Nuke's Vents Again

A fix restores HE grenade explosions' ability to break the vents on de_nuke. The update also fixes sniper rifle viewmodels showing at the edge of the scope overlay and viewmodels sometimes emitting double shell-eject effects, alongside minor performance improvements.

  • misc 2
  • weapon 1
  • utility 1

Workshop Maps Can Now Support Arms Race, and Demo Playback Pauses Instead of Exiting

Workshop map submissions can now include the Arms Race game mode. Demo playback will pause at the end of a recording instead of returning to the main menu, with minor additional playback optimizations. Bugs where keyboard input stopped working during the end-of-match map vote and UI characters always wore default gloves were also fixed.

  • misc 3
  • ui 1
  • scripting 1

Demo Skip-Forward Gets Up to 80% Faster After a Usercommand Fix

A fix cuts the time it takes to skip forward in demos by as much as 80%, by stopping too many usercommands from being processed at once. The update also fixes the buy menu and scoreboard sometimes blocking keyboard input, and removes the in-air killfeed icon from grenade kills. New console output can help advanced users diagnose long frames and performance problems.

  • misc 2
  • utility 1
  • economy 1

Grenade Throwing Bugs Are Fixed, Along With World Fall-Throughs on Dust 2 and Inferno

Several grenade bugs are fixed, including throw animations getting stuck when switching hands, being unable to throw the same grenade type twice without switching weapons first, and smoke grenades sometimes appearing lit as if a flashbang went off inside them. The update also fixes a spot above Dust 2's mid doors and a spot on Inferno where items could fall through the world.

  • utility 4
  • map 2

Dust 2 Replaces Overpass, and the Zeus and CZ75 Get Paid

Dust 2 took Overpass's place in the Active Duty group, the competition map pool and Premier matchmaking. The Zeus moves faster, has an adjusted attack cone and now pays $100 a kill instead of nothing; the CZ75-Auto's reward rose from $100 to $300, while the XM1014's fell from $900 to $600. Viewmodels can be switched between left and right hands mid-round, and a grenade line-up reticle appears shortly after the pin is pulled. Overwatch was added for demo review by trusted partners.

  • map 11
  • misc 10
  • ui 7
  • economy 4

Traded Items Are Now Hidden From Public Inventories for 10 Days

Purchased and traded Counter-Strike items will no longer be visible to other users viewing your Steam Inventory for 10 days. Several cases of sticky collisions when jumping against surfaces were fixed, along with another threading bug that could cause a frame rate hitch when all CPUs were busy. The patch also marks Natus Vincere's PGL Copenhagen Major win and the release of the Copenhagen 2024 Champions Autograph Capsule.

  • misc 4
  • content 1

The Elimination Stage Pick'Em Challenge Goes Live, and a C4-Through-Floor Bug Is Fixed

The Elimination Stage Pick'Em Challenge is now active with 13 qualified teams, and picks can be updated until the first Elimination Stage matches begin. The update also fixes a case where C4 could fall through the floor if dropped while planting, and adds a confirmation popup before launching Training Day.

  • misc 4
  • content 1
  • weapon 1
  • ui 1

The Copenhagen Major Hub Opens, and a Molotov Fire Visibility Exploit Is Fixed

The Copenhagen Major Hub is now available for purchasing tournament items and playing the Pick'Em Challenge, and players with Prime status can place picks for free. The update also fixes molotov fire so a player who could see through it is no longer invisible to an opponent looking from the other side.

  • misc 2
  • content 1
  • utility 1

Reconnect Handling Rewritten for Freeze Time and Round Backups

Players who disconnect and reconnect during freeze time now respawn in their original spawn position on official servers, and restoring from a round backup restores spawn assignments too. Several reconnect bugs went with it, including a black screen after repeated reconnects and incorrect interaction with bot slots. Spawn priorities were adjusted for Premier and Competitive on Anubis, Inferno, Mirage, Nuke and Overpass. Inferno had Banana plywood raised and ground movement smoothed.

  • map 10
  • misc 9
  • weapon 4
  • scripting 4

Half-Strength Grenade Throws Become Reliable, Plus Small UI Fixes

A fix guarantees 50% throw-strength grenades when both attack buttons are held and released within a short window of each other. The update also fixes bot avatar images not reloading in the pause menu, the previous-round button during demo playback, and an inability to clear a button binding in settings. Telemetry HUD performance was improved and NIGHTMODE music kit volume was normalized.

  • ui 3
  • misc 2
  • utility 1
  • content 1

Observer Tools Expand, and the Zeus Pays Double in Deathmatch

Casters and observers gained spec_lock_to_accountid and spec_lock_to_current_player, spec_player and spec_goto now work in CSTV and demo playback, and HLAE observers can connect to VAC-secure CSTV servers. In Deathmatch the Zeus can be bought each life and rebuys automatically, and a second Zeus kill in one life earns double points. A configurable performance telemetry HUD replaced the old netgraph commands.

  • misc 11
  • map 8
  • weapon 4
  • audiovisual 3

A Radar Exploit Through Smoke and Glass Gets Patched, and Bomb-Throw Dead Zones Are Fixed

Enemies could show up on the radar when viewed through a combination of smoke and translucent surfaces like glass; that's fixed, along with a tweak to how visible player silhouettes are inside smoke. Spots where the bomb could be thrown into an unreachable area at Nuke's T spawn and near the Palace are also fixed, alongside door-spin and pixel-gap fixes on other maps. Non-US keyboard keys like the UK backslash can now be bound.

  • map 6
  • misc 3
  • utility 2
  • weapon 1

Cl_Interp Can No Longer Be Set Directly, Closing a Rubber-Banding Exploit

Players can no longer change cl_interp directly, since some were scripting it to a large value and causing bad rubber-banding; interpolation is now adjusted only through the "Buffering to smooth over packet loss" setting. The update also fixes a world gap at Crane and a bug where holding an incendiary grenade could show fire effects at a player's own feet.

  • misc 3
  • audiovisual 3
  • ui 3
  • content 2

Arms Race Returns, Smokes Cast Shadows, and Peeker's Advantage Shrinks

Arms Race came back as a game mode with the maps Baggage and Shoots, and the Kilowatt Case arrived carrying seventeen community finishes and the Kukri Knife. The Zeus is now reusable in every mode after a thirty-second recharge, and smoke grenades cast shadows. Peeker's advantage was cut by 16ms in the steady state, with fewer of the situations that produce very large advantages. Stickers can be placed at a chosen position and rotation, up to five per weapon.

  • map 31
  • misc 15
  • content 8
  • audiovisual 8

Loadout Changes No Longer Get Lost on a Quick Exit, Among a Sweep of UI Fixes

Several loadout menu bugs are fixed, including changes not saving if the game was quit shortly after and changes to the main menu character being delayed. The update also adjusts wear values on some community stickers to better match CS:GO and fixes clipping and grenade collision issues at A and B sites.

  • ui 5
  • misc 2
  • map 2
  • content 1

2023

28 updates

Weapons and the C4 Stop Falling Through the Ground

Fixed cases where weapons and the C4 could fall through the ground, and various gaps across Inferno, Mirage, Italy, and Nuke were fixed. Player collision surface types were changed on these maps, and a trigger-behavior inconsistency when crouching in workshop maps was fixed. The update also includes bugfixes for stickers, weapon finishes, and gloves.

  • map 2
  • weapon 1
  • content 1
  • scripting 1

Shotguns Eject Shells, and Fall Damage Is Matched to CS:GO

Shotguns gained shell eject effects, and weapons dropped by a buy-menu purchase now land below the buyer rather than beside them. Prop and ledge positions were adjusted so falling damage more accurately matches CS:GO, alongside clipping work removing exploitable ledges and lines of sight. Friends can now be added by friend code, and multiple lobby invites are listed together. The 2024 Service Medal was added ahead of January 1st.

  • map 9
  • misc 5
  • weapon 1
  • economy 1

Releasing the Fire Button No Longer Cancels a Grenade Throw on Weapon Switch

Switching weapons after releasing the fire button will no longer cancel an in-progress grenade throw, though restarting the round still will. Inferno picks up a maintenance pass: a gap under the door at Middle is fixed, a grenade clip was added at Bridge, railings now emit correct footstep sounds, and a visibility bug looking from Garage toward Hell is resolved. Starting pistols now correctly show up in the Equipment view's Pistols tab.

  • map 10
  • misc 3
  • ui 2
  • utility 1

Pressing Both Attack Buttons Now Gives an Instant Intermediate Grenade Throw

Players can now get an intermediate-strength grenade throw without delay by pressing primary and secondary attack simultaneously, and pings now display in the player's own color. The update also fixes delayed throw-strength adjustments, canceled throws when switching weapons too quickly, and scoring bugs affecting Ace Round MVP and shorthanded bonuses.

  • misc 4
  • utility 3

A Character Animation Overhaul, and a Long Clipping Pass on Office

Player characters now rotate their torso away from their legs less, jump animations are directional, and hit reactions, foot placement and aiming poses were all improved. The flashbanged pose now matches how much a player can actually see. Office received dozens of collision, clipping and visibility fixes, including a resized bombsite A with visual boundaries. Wear values were adjusted on most tournament stickers to better match CS:GO.

  • map 41
  • audiovisual 14
  • utility 2
  • content 1

A Teleport Exploit Is Closed, and Anubis Patches a Bomb-Out-of-World Bug at T Spawn

This update fixes an exploit that let players teleport and a case where players could push their view through low ceilings. On Anubis, a pixel gap exploit at A site and a hole near T spawn that could let the bomb be thrown out of the world are both fixed, alongside various tweaks to Overpass.

  • misc 3
  • map 2
  • network 1
  • movement 1

Grenade and Sub-Tick Fixes, a Deathmatch Scoreboard Rework, and a Hundred Smaller Changes

Thrown grenades no longer detonate early when released while intersecting a teammate, and a case where throws failed to register on the server was fixed. Players can no longer mitigate fall damage by defusing the bomb, and weapon drop trajectories were made more consistent. The deathmatch scoreboard changed from K/D/A/Score to K/HS%/DMG/Score, and the square radar gained direction indicators. The remainder is a long pass of animation fixes, map clipping and hole-plugging.

  • map 57
  • ui 14
  • audiovisual 10
  • misc 9

Mirage Mid Wall-Slide Exploit Closed in a Movement Bug Sweep

A movement fix stops players from sliding up walls in Mirage mid, and another prevents getting stuck on map geometry. The update also fixes weapon switches right after shooting sometimes failing to register on the server, and closes a bug that let players shoot during freeze time at the start and end of halves and matches. The Zoom Button Hold: Repeat Disabled setting now works correctly.

  • misc 3
  • movement 2
  • weapon 1

Game Invites Now Work From Steam Chat, and CSTV Auto Record Requires a Server

Players can now accept game and party invites from Steam Chat and the Steam Overlay. CSTV auto record now requires either an active CSTV server or tv_record_immediate to be enabled, fixing a case where game events went missing from CSTV demos recorded in that mode. Certain command-line commands, such as econ action previews and match downloads, can now be deferred until the main menu loads, and demo recording performance was optimized.

  • misc 4
  • ui 1

Shooting Spread Is Now Synchronised Between Client and Server

The random numbers behind shooting spread are synchronised between client and server by default, and sub-tick visual and audio feedback — movement acceleration, muzzle flashes — was reworked. A bug that made jump height inconsistent when a movement key was pressed immediately after jumping was fixed. Parties of four can queue for Premier, with vote-kick immunity for the solo player matched alongside them. A long list of audio distance and falloff adjustments followed.

  • audiovisual 10
  • misc 9
  • movement 2
  • map 2

Competitive Rating Now Updates the Moment You Return to the Main Menu

Competitive Rating now updates as soon as a player returns to the main menu after a win, rather than lagging behind. A notice was added at the end of a match for when CS Rating was adjusted mid-match, such as after a kicked or abandoned match or recovered points from a cheater. The Redemption UI was also updated to show time remaining before the weekly rollover.

  • misc 3
  • ui 1

Workshop Map Uploads Open, and Knife Attacks Stop Hitting Teammates First

CS2 maps can now be uploaded to the Workshop and hosted on community servers. Knife attacks prioritise enemies and only hit teammates when no enemy is in range, no longer predict damage on the client, and always deal full damage immediately after a switch. Smoke grenades gained a minimum fuse so they stop detonating early when wedged in a crevice, and decoys now interact visually with smoke clouds. Damage events under one point are ignored entirely.

  • misc 14
  • scripting 6
  • weapon 6
  • map 4

A Clipping and Readability Pass Across Six Maps

Inferno, Overpass, Nuke, Dust 2, Anubis and Office each received collision, grenade-clipping and visibility work — closing holes, fixing bullet penetration through wood panels, and removing models and lighting that made players hard to read. Molotov self-damage is no longer mis-recorded as team damage, and muzzle flash and HE grenade effects perform better. On the network side, packets arriving out of order in quick succession are now corrected rather than counted as loss.

  • map 44
  • utility 2
  • weapon 1
  • content 1

A Windows 11 Auto HDR Bug That Hid Smokes Gets Fixed

A bug in Windows 11 Auto HDR that caused smoke grenades to intermittently disappear has been fixed. The update also adds a startup check for incompatible AMD graphics drivers, with affected players' VAC bans being reversed, plus miscellaneous bug fixes.

  • misc 2
  • utility 1

The Bomb Gets a New Beeping Sound for Its Final 10 Seconds

The bomb now plays a new sound during the final 10 seconds before it detonates. Command aliases gain subtick accuracy, and a bug where a defused bomb blocked players from swapping to a nearby dropped gun is fixed, along with a case where players could peek through ceilings. The patch also fixes missing gamestate integration data for flashbangs and damage stats.

  • audiovisual 4
  • misc 4
  • weapon 2
  • utility 1

The Accept Match Popup Now Warns of High Latency, and Sydney Ping Is Fixed

The Accept Match popup will now show server information when latency is notably high. A ping calculation bug in Sydney that caused players to connect to distant data centers is fixed, and a list of nearest official datacenters was added under the Max Acceptable Matchmaking Ping setting. The Perfect World region selection popup now saves its last choice, the defuser now shows on the scoreboard, and various agent, glove, and sticker bugs were fixed.

  • misc 3
  • content 1
  • network 1
  • ui 1

A New Screenshot Button Captures Transparent-Background Inspect Shots

A new Screenshot button saves a PNG of the game window, and using it during Inspect with a gray or green background hides UI elements and makes the background transparent. This patch also adds a Player Color HUD option that matches your HUD to your player color, sets Use Player Colors on Team ID to Yes by default, and adjusts character shaders to improve player visibility. Inferno, Mirage, Nuke, Overpass, and Vertigo all receive bug fixes and tweaks.

  • misc 6
  • audiovisual 2
  • map 2
  • ui 2

Matchmaking Now Favors Closer Skill Matches Over Faster Queues

Matches will now be made with smaller rating differences between teams, at the expense of longer queue times. Relegation and Promotion matches now only occur at color boundaries, every 5,000 CS Rating points, and the possible CS Rating win/loss amounts were increased to move players through calibration faster.

  • misc 3

M4A4 and M4A1-S Deploy Animations Get Fixed Bolts, and Chengdu Joins Matchmaking

Fixed the M4A4 and M4A1-S bolts not moving during their deployment animations, along with several hitbox alignment bugs and a memory leak caused by particles. Mirage, Vertigo, and Nuke all received bug fixes and tweaks. The update adds a new official matchmaking datacenter in Chengdu, China, and improves CPU performance for weapon tracers.

  • audiovisual 6
  • misc 3
  • map 1
  • content 1

M4A4 and M4A1-S Draw Animations Now Start Out of Frame

The M4A4 and M4A1-S draw animations now start from out-of-frame, and a bug that canceled the grenade throw animation when holding the inspect key is fixed. Nuke, Vertigo, Anubis, and Overpass all received bug fixes and tweaks. Surrender votes now require a majority to pass, and a chat-spam exploit during the Premier draft phase was fixed, along with a CS Rating penalty bug affecting kicked players.

  • misc 6
  • audiovisual 5
  • map 1

The Buy Command Now Works With the Flexible Loadout System

The buy <item> command is fixed to work with the flexible loadout system, now searching your loadout for the named item instead of assuming a fixed slot; buying by slot uses commands like buy secondary0 or buy rifle2 instead. A bug that cost players XP when disconnecting and reconnecting to a match is also fixed. The AWP's finger position was adjusted so it no longer looks too long, and Inferno, Anubis, Vertigo, Ancient, and Mirage all receive bug fixes and tweaks.

  • misc 3
  • audiovisual 2
  • content 2
  • ui 2

The Movement Penalty on Mud Surfaces Is Removed

Walking through mud no longer slows players down, and a bug that caused molotov and incendiary grenades to create a fire ring in mid-air has been fixed. Knife slashing can now be interrupted with an inspect animation, and molotov extinguishing performance has been improved. This patch also includes several weapon finish and glove tweaks along with general crash fixes.

  • audiovisual 2
  • weapon 2
  • utility 2
  • movement 1

A Wingman Bug That Gave Both Terrorists the Bomb Icon Gets Fixed

In Wingman matches, both terrorists could appear to be carrying the bomb; that's fixed, along with surrender votes that would sometimes incorrectly fail. Grenades now play distinct sounds landing inside versus outside the playable area, and a case of missing grenade explosion sounds mid-air is resolved. Ancient receives general bug fixes and tweaks, and dedicated server operators get new command-line examples for logging matches.

  • misc 11
  • audiovisual 3
  • map 2
  • weapon 1

Smoke Rendering on AMD Linux Gets Fixed, and CSTV Recording Pauses for Server Load

Fixed smokes not rendering correctly on AMD GPUs on Linux, and grenade throw animations were adjusted to reduce view obstruction. CSTV and demo recording were temporarily disabled to free up server capacity for more players. Mirage and Overpass received bug fixes and tweaks, and the buy menu's sellback buttons now have a larger clickable area.

  • audiovisual 5
  • misc 4
  • map 1
  • content 1

Nuke's Water Gets Fixed After Interfering With Smoke

Nuke's water was updated to fix an issue where it interfered with smoke, and maximum water refraction was reduced because it looked too noisy. Weapon sounds no longer shift toward the zoomed-in view. The update also fixes the death panel sometimes not appearing and debug text showing on the crosshair.

  • misc 2
  • ui 2
  • audiovisual 1
  • utility 1

Counter-Strike 2 Launches, and Premier Season One Begins

Counter-Strike 2 shipped free to play with Premier, Competitive, Wingman and Private matchmaking enabled, and Season One of Premier opened the same day. Smoke now occludes player reflections in water and no longer stops short of a player's height off the ground, and Molotov fire floats on water. Bullet penetration was made more consistent and player-against-player collision improved. CS:GO players from the previous week received a commemorative coin and music kit.

  • audiovisual 24
  • misc 20
  • map 5
  • utility 3