What changed in Counter-Strike 2 in 2023

Resolved an issue where players could refund a grenade for a brief period after it was thrown.

Adjusted to better match CS:GO

Improved player movement

More accurately matches CS:GO

Fixed a bug where explicit weapon switches right after grenade throws were delayed slightly

Fixed a bug where you could plant C4 in planter

Changed the collision properties on railings to emit the correct footstep sounds

Fixed a visibility bug at Garage when looking towards Hell

Fixed an issue where the player's shadow would sometimes show the incorrect animation state

Fixed an issue where silencers would not be shown on weapons when held by characters in the UI

Changed the collision properties on railings to emit the correct footstep sounds

Changed the collision properties on railings to emit the correct footstep sounds

Various minor bug fixes to demo playback

Added a grenade clip to the wall at Bridge

Various animation system optimizations

Cleaned up redundant skins on metal_door models to prevent workshop mappers hitting fatal errors for missing assets

Fixed a bug where starting pistols weren't showing in the Pistols tab of the Equipment view

Fixed a gap under the door at Middle

Fixed an issue where some chimney models would disappear in the skybox

Weapon switching after releasing the fire button(s) will no longer cancel grenade throws (but round restart will)

Fix for the sun material not blooming and adjusted the size of the material

Press primary and secondary attack simultaneously for an intermediate throw.

Fixed issue with Shadow Daggers playing catch sound during looping inspect animation.

Adjusted wear values of most tournament stickers and many other stickers to better match CS:GO.

Changed handling of non-default console key bindings to match CS:GO behavior.

Fire effect added to molotovs that are held by players.

Adjusted bombsite A size and added visual boundaries.

Added clipping to help minimize player exploits.

Clipped fridge to prevent player becoming stuck.

Timing of flashbanged posing now more accurately represents player's ability to see.

Further refined falloff distance curves and volume of grenade bounces.

Brightened red interior walls to help with agent visibility.

Adjusted position of stone that player could crouch in.

Fixed collision to provide smooth movement.

Fixed an issue where sometimes a Sabre agent would say hostage related lines when cheering.

Improved posing when aiming up and down.

Improvements to various systems including grenade throw animations and revolver firing.

Fixed vis bug looking toward Bridge.

Extended staircase and added grenade clip to prevent grenades becoming wedged in gap.

Fixed slight wall gap that allowed sniping into bombsite A.

Fixed gap that allowed bomb to be thrown on top of building.

Fixed geometry and clipping to prevent pixel walking.

Resolved a bug where collision between players was sometimes causing players to step up.

Addressed a case where players could shoot during freeze time at the ends of warmup, halves, and matches.

Resolved a bug that prevented 'Zoom Button Hold: Repeat Disabled' from working correctly.

Addressed a bug where players could slide up walls in Mirage mid.

Fixed a case where switching weapons immediately after shooting would result in the shot not registering on the server.

Corrected a movement systems bug where players could get stuck on geometry.

Performance optimizations in game server demo recording code.

CSTV auto record now requires either an active CSTV server or tv_record_immediate to be enabled.

Fixed a bug that caused game events to not appear in CSTV demos recorded in tv_record_immediate mode.

Added support for accepting game invites and party invites from Steam Chat and Steam Overlay.

Added an execution delay for certain commands that can be specified on command line to be deferred until main menu fully loads.

Adjusted volume to align with other headshot sounds.

Sound effects improved when multiple molotovs are playing at once.

Addressed case where unsilenced m4a1-s did not have distant gunfire sounds.

Resolved issue where a victim's death groan could be mistaken as coming from the attacker.

New setting 'tv_record_immediate' controls when CSTV demo file starts recording.

Jump land sounds now have the same maximum audible distance as footstep sounds.

Requires setting 'tv_record_immediate 1' and executing 'tv_record' at the moment recording should start.

Adjusted to match CS:GO.

Modified to better convey distance.

Movement acceleration and muzzle flashes will now always render on the next frame.

Wear values adjusted to better match CS:GO.

Added immunity for solo players matched with a party of four.

Addressed issue where headshot dink sounds could be mistaken for incoming damage.

Random numbers used for shooting spread are now synchronized by default, improving tracer and decal accuracy.

Resolved issue preventing light_environment from baking static shadows in some circumstances.

Brought back sound feedback when bomb defuse is cut short due to player spinning.

Modified the algorithm for re-establishing CS Rating after inactivity in Premier mode.

Addressed a bug where pressing a movement key immediately after jumping resulted in an inconsistent jump height.

Notice added to end of match for CS Rating adjustments due to midmatch events.

Community map makers can now upload their maps to the workshop, and community servers can host those maps.

A host of fixes and adjustments related to workshop tools have been implemented.

Fixed ladder collision blocking bullets and grenades

Fixed gaps in some cubemaps which were causing lighting issues

Clipped multiple areas where players could stack, providing an unfair vantage point

Fixed collision on doorways from ramp to bombsite B to be more accurate

Removed dynamic light at squeaky to prevent shadows giving away player position through doorway

Made fog adjustments to improve player readability

Adjusted lighting in certain areas to improve player readability

Removed or tweaked models and textures to improve player readability

Improved player readability at CT spawn around swat van

Added code to correct packets that arrive out of order in quick succession.

Fixed bullet penetration issues through wood panels near bombsite B

Fixed multiple holes and cracks in the world

Fixed a bug where SDR routing could sometimes choose the second-best route when immediately connecting, and then stick to that route for too long.

Improved grenade bounce behavior on roof and stone models to make it more predictable

Fixed multiple holes and cracks in world.

Fixed missing collision on geometry where c4 could be thrown out of the map

Fixed various bullet penetration issues

Fixed a bug where Molotov self damage could be incorrectly penalized as team damage

Fixed multiple cases where dropped weapons clipped through world geometry

Adjusted grenade clipping in and around bombsite B to prevent grenades getting stuck in tight spots

Fixed some lighting artifacts on crates at low settings

Improved bomb visibility when planted in fountain on bombsite B

Adjusted grenade clipping in various areas

Fixed clipping on ramp room doorway tread plates to prevent erroneous grenade bounces

Fixed some cases where players clipped through garage door at lobby

Fixed steel beams having incorrect surface property

Adjusted garage door on bombsite A to improve player readability and clipping

Improved player readability against container on bombsite B

Fixed rendering issue related to GPU UltraWide+ feature.

Added more client information to the screen timestamp label to help investigate reported issues.

Fixed a bug in Windows 11 Auto HDR that led to smokes intermittently disappearing.

Added a startup check for incompatible AMD graphics drivers. We will now begin reversing VAC bans for affected players.

Resolved issue causing players to connect to distant data centers.

Integrated help system in Workshop Item Editor with detailed guides.

Fixed a bug where graffiti changes mid-match were delayed.

Added 'Large Player Count' setting to replace player avatars with team player count in mini-scoreboard.

Adjusted team select and team intro knife animations to work with Shadow Daggers.

Fixed the 'Smooth Criminal' foot pinning bug.

Various bug fixes and tweaks to weapon finishes and stickers.

Various bug fixes and tweaks to Inferno, Mirage, Nuke, Overpass, and Vertigo.

Added 'Player Color' option to 'HUD Color' setting for competitive modes.

New Screenshot button captures game window and saves a .png file to disk.

Made adjustments to character shaders to improve player visibility.

Buy menu now reflects the server-authoritative loadout when there's a disagreement.

Added Inferno and Ancient preview maps (workshop_preview_inferno and workshop_preview_ancient).

Changed 'Use Player Colors on Team ID' default to 'Yes'.

Fixed a case where players could clip through ceilings.

Matches will now be made with smaller rating differences between the teams at the expense of longer queue times.

Relegation and Promotion matches will only occur at color boundaries, i.e. every 5000 CS Rating points.

Increased possible CS Rating win/loss amounts to move players faster after calibration.

Corrected the bolt movement during deployment animations.

Adjusted knife spinning to feel faster, similar to CS:GO.

Addressed issue where loadout changes weren't saved if the game was closed shortly after.

Kicked players now receive rating based on match outcome.

Animation now starts from out-of-frame.

Fixes applied to Nuke, Vertigo, Anubis, and Overpass.

Users can resolve hitches with a driver update.

Various bug fixes and tweaks to Inferno, Anubis, Vertigo, Ancient, and Mirage.

Various bug fixes and tweaks to stickers.

Added sort options to secondary inventory select panel for actions like applying stickers.

Various tweaks to automatic sniper rifle muzzle flashes.

Fixed the 'buy <item>' command to work with the new flexible loadout system.

Repositioned finger on AWP so it doesn't look as long.

Fixed a bug where users in Germany were incorrectly identified as users in China.

Various tweaks to glass impact effects.

Fixed a bug where disconnecting from and reconnecting to a match would result in less XP.

Removed Model / Texture Detail: Very High setting since it was identical to High.

Adjusted crosshair outline rendering for fractional values.

Note that these hitches may still exist on AMD GPUs; we are working with AMD to address this.

Fixed a case where molotov/incendiary grenades would create a fire ring in the air.

Knife slashing couldn't be interrupted with an inspect.

Allows selecting '-perfectworld' or '-worldwide' mode

Use 'cs2 -dedicated +map de_dust2'

Prevented normal menu interactions

Use 'logaddress_add_http "<server address>:<port>"'

Add '+sv_logfile 1 -serverlogging' to command line

Use '-promptperfectworld', '-perfectworld', or '-worldwide'

Fixed a case where the preview crosshair wouldn't show in game settings

Fixed a case where the death panel wouldn't show

Fixed a case where debug text would appear on the crosshair

Updated water in Nuke to fix an issue with smoke

Reduced maximum amount of water refraction since it was looking too noisy/distracting

Weapon sounds will no longer sound like they come from the spot you are zoomed into

Choose from weapon cases, weapon finishes, and graffiti.

Guides include gray scale value ranges for alpha channel masking, paint-by-number mask color assignments based on current finish type, and much more!

Resolved visibility issues.

Removed several legacy audio convars that existed in CS:GO but never had an effect in CS2.

In Premier, players with a very high established CS Rating are not allowed to party with accounts that do not have an established CS Rating.

A brief introductory experience for brand new players.

Including fixing overly strong wear on several Custom Paint Job finishes.

Particularly when repeatedly jumping.

Adjusted smoke behavior to cover cases where smoke would stop less than a player's height above the ground.

When one or more party members get convicted of cheating and permanently banned, all their associates will be penalized with loss of Profile Rank and CS Rating.

Players who started playing more than a week ago will receive a commemorative CS:GO coin and CS:GO Music Kit.

Relative to camera position.

Feedback will now play within the same distance as it does for onlookers through smokes and wallbangs.

Fixed a bug where dropped grenades were invisible.

Various bug fixes and tweaks to weapon finishes.

Fixed a bug where dropped bombs and weapons would appear in the wrong location.

Lag compensation adjusted to favor lower-latency players.

hud_scaling is no longer imported from CS:GO.

Added cvars mp_team_timeout_ot_add_once, mp_team_timeout_ot_add_each, mp_team_timeout_ot_max

Resolved issue where player models were missing for the first few seconds

Reduced the likelihood of players spawning stuck together

Various bug fixes and tweaks to weapon finishes.

Fixes for missing music in Casual mode.

Players who survive the last round before overtime no longer carry their items into overtime.

Various bug fixes and tweaks to Premier UI elements.

Fixed a crash that occurs when changing audio devices.

Disabled Casual matchmaking temporarily to avoid a bug where servers get stuck in the end-of-match state.

Fixed an issue where players who abandon during Premier map voting receive multiple cooldowns.

For more information visit the CS2 Leaderboard FAQ

New CS Rating system to measure player performance and determine leaderboard standings.

Includes custom normal maps, optional pearlescent mask, standard PBR roughness texture, and Paint-By-Numbers masks.

Regulation time for matches now capped at 24 rounds with a 6 round overtime for ties.

Introduction of the new map Inferno in the CS2 Limited Test.

The maps Anubis and Ancient have been removed from the game.

Added support for multiple team introduction variants.

The map Italy has been added to Deathmatch and Casual game modes.

Competitive and Private Matchmaking are currently disabled in the Limited Test.

Made various tweaks and adjustments to the audio mix.

Made minor adjustments to the shape of smoke clouds.

Updated the models used for hostages in the game.

Adjusted sticker sizes on CS2 M4A4 so they no longer overlap.

Unified StatTrak position on both CS2 M4 models to not occlude stickers.

Fixed a case where incendiary grenades fail to detonate in water.

Fixed an issue with round restart in the middle of weapon reloading.

Improved movement clipping map-wide and adjustments to collision around pillars.

Various adjustments to lighting.

Adjustments to collision around corners.

Fixed issues with weapon and bomb clipping through world geometry.

Improved water clarity at T spawn.

Adjustments to jumpable locations.

Ragdoll limbs splash when they hit water.

Adjustments made to collision mechanics.

Multiple bug fixes and minor tweaks implemented.

Adjustments made to jumpable locations on the Overpass map.

Various fixes implemented to improve gameplay on the Vertigo and Overpass maps.

Various fixes

Fixed a case where four grenade icons would scale incorrectly in the team hud

Fixed vacancy signs on potties

Fixed a case where parties of two or more were unable to enter matchmaking

Fixed a case where door interactions with players affected hit registration

Glove patterns and wear now more closely align with CS:GO versions.

Various improvements to foil stickers.

Fixed a case where the viewmodel weapon would disappear for one frame when switching in-eye spectator targets.

Various adjustments to the size of stickers applied to weapons.

Fixed a case where the camera would not interpolate correctly when switching between chase and roaming spectator modes.

Overpass is now available in Deathmatch, Casual, Wingman, and Competitive game modes.

Fixed a bug that caused small pops and stutters due to some sounds ending early and not fully fading out

Fixed flickering shadows at vending on the Nuke map

Fixed a rare issue that would cause camera height to be incorrect after respawn

Bunnyhopping once again has a speed limit. If you want to disable it, set sv_enablebunnyhopping 1

Players can quickly throw multiple flashbangs in sequence.

Improved blending between different reload states

A second tranche of users are in process of being added to the limited test.

Automatically cancel drag and drop operation when switching away from loadout menu.

Fixed various player and grenade collision bugs.

Removed wallbang through door towards connector, blocked gap in box stack top of mid, and blocked pixel gap by ticket booth.

Fixed various minor graphical bugs.

Fixed disconnecting players taking C4 explosive with them.

Added back jump onto firebox in A site.

Deathmatch bonus weapons now offer weapons from equipped loadout options.

Added 'Replace for CT' context menu loadout shortcut for USP-S when P2000 is equipped and vice versa.

Players now get a weapon case with their first weekly XP rank up, rather than after some amount of idle playtime.

Reload events now match when the magazine is fully inserted

Resolved issue with controls not working sometimes

Improved the look of SCAR-20, G3SG1.

Fixed asset compiler bug creating stray files when running in directories that have spaces.

Improved the look of UMP-45, MAG-7, R8 Revolver, Sawed-Off.

Fixed loadout tooltips getting stuck on main menu.

Brought back an option to pass number keys through to the game while in buy menu.

Fixed legacy models appearing when previewing new weapon paint finishes.

Fixed a regression with weapon recoil on high-punch weapons like MAG-7.

Fixed a regression with inspecting Huntsman knives.

Mirage is now available as an option for the main menu scenery map.

Fixed wooden ladders to play wooden footstep sounds.

Fixed free armor side-effect of armor refunding.

Fixed a regression where 10-second music cue was sometimes not playing.

Players can now assign any weapon to any slot within its category.

New Counter-Strike 2 Workshop Tools available for community contributors to create weapon finishes, stickers, and maps.

Customize weapons for T and CT sides with a new drag-and-drop buy menu, including a refund option and teammate indicators.

Movement is now more precise and less 'floaty'.

Provides a latency-independent experience.

Multi-binds are back, except for jump-throw binds.

Match will not affect participants' Skill Group.

Now latency-independent and synchronized with other sub-tick effects.

Community contributors can create weapon finishes, stickers, and maps.

Adjustments made to smoke grenades as part of the update.

Significantly speeds up compile times but requires a raytracing-capable GPU.

Now latency-independent during sub-tick recovery.

Enhances responsiveness.

Allows for separate character motion.

Various improvements made to input and animation in the game.

Enhancements when smoke overlaps multiple distinctly lit regions.

Players can now refund any purchase that has not been used.

Replaced wheel with a grid showing all purchase options simultaneously.

Removed animation popping.

Allows placing all group predictions in a single batch.

Access to Steam.tv team flair is included with the Viewer Pass.

Viewer Pass holders will have access to Paris 2023 Souvenir Packages.

With a Viewer Pass, players receive an upgradable Paris 2023 Event Coin and access to the Paris Pick’Em Challenge.

The 'Paris 2023 Viewer Pass' and the 'Paris 2023 Viewer Pass + 3 Souvenir Tokens' are now available for purchase.

Players with a Viewer Pass will have unlimited team graffiti for the duration of the event.

Team stickers and Player Autograph stickers are now available for purchase.

Featuring 19 weapon finishes themed around the Anubis map.

Lava in the tunnels is rising.

Introducing the Anubis Collection, featuring 19 weapon finishes themed around the newest addition to Counter-Strike's Active Duty map pool.

Spring celebrations have ended in Ember Land.

Sealed rooftops to prevent grenades/molotovs from landing in places they shouldn't.

Various font and style changes made to the scoreboard.

Continued improvements to inspect/reload behavior.

The player lister in private matchmaking should no longer mix CS:GO and CS2 players together if they use the same private matchmaking pool code.

Adjusted voting panel to more closely match other UI.

Adjusted animations to reduce interpenetration of weapons and character models.

Brightened some sticker styles for better contrast and added functionality for future content adjustments.

Fixed many cases where user input would get confused.

Fixed rare inspect animations to be rare and not every anim.

Buy menu and scoreboard now allow movement while they have focus.

Fixed halo around enemies to not give away their locations.

Disabled all development console commands (including 'cl_physics_highlight_active 5').

Fixed chat wheel lines to be restricted to legitimate chat wheel lines that can be configured in game options.

Shooting random seeds are now correctly desynchronized between server and client code.

Fixed a bug where flashbang or grenade sound effect would remain if player died while having that sound effect active.

Improved behavior of picking up weapons with the use key.

Adjustments to smoke grenade sound timing at a distance.

Bomb code will now correctly clear when aborting the bomb plant.

Trajectory preview for decoy grenades is now correct.

Fixed positions of overhead labels and ping elements at different resolutions.

Inspect then reload ('f', 'r', 'f', 'r') more closely matches CS:GO behavior.

Players will no longer drop weapons when getting a bonus weapon in Deathmatch.

Added dedicated player-only sound when a grenade is correctly jump-thrown.

Keys will no longer get stuck when opening the steam overlay.

Chickens in the game now lay colourful eggs.

Mechanism for players to gain access to the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test has been shipped.

Introduction of the Ember spring update with various festive changes.

Cannonballs have been replaced with eggs in the game.

Updated the image on the Festive Tablet.

New weeds have been added to the game environment.

Players will no longer take damage from slow rolling cannonballs.

A new path has been added at the Swimming Pool area.

Remastered art assets, updated lighting, and improved occlusion for better performance.

Updated clipping and made the grate bars on A-site less obstructive. Added place names.

Fixed optimization regression.

Clipped boost onto top of arches, fixed gap in side of stairs, and lowered floating railings.

Various texture improvements have been made.

Map lighting, theme, textures, and models have returned to their pre-seasonal state.

Cave rock textures are now using $seamless_scale for improved texture quality and look.

Seasonal celebrations have ended and map elements have returned to their pre-seasonal state.

An issue with areaportals has been fixed.

The AWP | Doodle Lore has been replaced by the AWP | Duality in the Revolution Case.

Features 17 weapon finishes from community artists and gloves from the Clutch Case as rare special items.

Includes 21 unique stickers from Steam Workshop artists.

Features tracks from Denzel Curry's 2022 album 'Melt My Eyez See Your Future'.