What changed in Counter-Strike 2 in 2026

Added stickers showcase to the Cologne 2026 Major Hub tile on the main menu.

Fixed number wrapping rules in some languages.

Added display of lowest and highest sticker price in the last 7 days in the Cologne 2026 Major Shop.

Added appropriate error message when user's inventory is full and they try to redeem Weekly Care Package rewards, Armory items, or items in the Major Shop cart.

Added multi-select functionality in Storage Units deposit/retrieve UI.

Added multi-select functionality in Storage Units deposit/retrieve UI.

Added stickers showcase to the Cologne 2026 Major Hub tile on the main menu.

Added convar r_spectator_flashbang_opacity to control flashbang opacity for remote spectators.

Updated clipping to prevent certain boost locations.

Fixed number wrapping rules in some languages.

Updated to the latest version from Steam Workshop.

General stability improvements implemented.

Added appropriate error message when user's inventory is full and they try to redeem Weekly Care Package rewards, Armory items, or items in the Major Shop cart.

Added ability to bookmark stickers in the shop.

Added display of lowest and highest sticker price in the last 7 days in the Cologne 2026 Major Shop.

Flashbang effect for remote spectators now renders underneath the HUD.

Added appropriate error message when user's inventory is full and they try to redeem Weekly Care Package rewards, Armory items, or items in the Major Shop cart.

Added stickers showcase to the Cologne 2026 Major Hub tile on the main menu.

Fixed number wrapping rules in some languages.

Resolved an issue with the scoreboard timeline presentation during overtime.

Added ability to bookmark stickers in the shop.

Updated clipping to prevent certain boost locations.

The Major Shop allows direct purchase of any sticker with prices set by demand.

Corrected an issue where weapon entities disallowing pickup were not showing the pickup hint text.

Purchase a Cologne 2026 Viewer Pass to receive an upgradable Cologne 2026 Coin and earn rewards through the Pick'Em Challenge.

Players can craft their own Souvenir weapons with stickers applied.

Souvenir quality items can now be selected in Trade Up Contracts, resulting in a single normal item of a higher quality.

General stability improvements implemented.

Royalty rates for tournament item sales will depend on teams' VRS seeding and final standings.

Resolved an issue where tire fire particles were flickering in the advanced video preview.

Added display of lowest and highest sticker price in the last 7 days in the Cologne 2026 Major Shop.

Modified the finger animation on the Bayonet model.

Refunds issued if sticker prices drop by more than 25 tokens within 24 hours of purchase.

Updated Sanctum to the latest version from Steam Workshop.

Added multi-select functionality in Storage Units deposit/retrieve UI.

Flashbang effect for remote spectators now renders underneath the HUD.

The IEM Cologne 2026 Major Hub is now available for players to purchase tournament items and participate in the Pick'Em Challenge.

Purchase and activate a Viewer Pass to receive a Challenge Coin and participate in the Pick'Em Challenge.

Added convar r_spectator_flashbang_opacity to control flashbang opacity for remote spectators.

Fixed weapon entities disallowing pickup from showing pick up weapon hint text.

Updated clipping to prevent certain boost locations.

Flashbang effect for remote spectators now renders underneath the HUD.

The IEM Cologne 2026 Major Hub is now available. Visit the hub to purchase tournament items, play the Pick'Em Challenge and more.

Souvenir quality items can now be selected in Trade Up Contract alongside normal quality items, with attributes removed.

Added ability to bookmark stickers in the shop.

Updated Sanctum to the latest version from Steam Workshop.

Purchase a Cologne 2026 Viewer Pass to receive an upgradable Cologne 2026 Coin and earn rewards by playing the Pick'Em Challenge.

General stability improvements implemented.

Added convar r_spectator_flashbang_opacity to control flashbang opacity for remote spectators.

Adjusted model for window covers to show collision / decals when shot.

Improved consistency of grenade jump throws and the accuracy of the jump throw preview camera.

Fixed a case of stuck x-ray silhouettes when switching spectator targets.

Added weapon_accuracy_stack_boost_limit (default value '2') to apply ladder inaccuracy to players boosted by a stack of this many or more players.

Fixed weapon entities disallowing pickup from showing pick up weapon hint text.

Souvenir quality items can now be selected in Trade Up Contract alongside normal quality items.

Fixed a case where tire fire particles were flickering in the advanced video preview.

The IEM Cologne 2026 Major Hub is now available. Visit the hub to purchase tournament items, play the Pick'Em Challenge and more.

Fixed a case of post-processing glitch when switching spectator targets on maps with different post-processing volumes.

Purchase a Cologne 2026 Viewer Pass to receive an upgradable Cologne 2026 Coin and earn rewards by playing the Pick'Em Challenge.

Adjustments to player clipping and grenade clipping around windows, window covers, and vent entrance.

Adjusted finger animation on Bayonet model.

Changed the activator for OnPlayerUse to always be the player.

Changed the caller for OnPlayerUse to always be the used entity.

The IEM Cologne 2026 Major Hub is now available for players to purchase tournament items and participate in the Pick'Em Challenge.

Added weapon_accuracy_stack_boost_limit (default value '2') to apply ladder inaccuracy to players boosted by a stack of this many or more players.

Fixed a case of stuck x-ray silhouettes when switching spectator targets.

Adjusted model for window covers to show collision / decals when shot.

Resolved an issue where tire fire particles were flickering in the advanced video preview.

Resolved an issue with incorrect scoreboard timeline presentation during overtime.

Adjusted the amount of flash effect experienced by spectators in-eye.

Souvenir quality items can now be selected in Trade Up Contract, with all Souvenir attributes removed from selected items.

Improved consistency of grenade jump throws and the accuracy of the jump throw preview camera.

Fixed a case where it was possible to cancel a grenade throw after the throw was started near the end of the pin pull animation.

Fixed a case of post-processing glitch when switching spectator targets on maps with different post-processing volumes.

Changed the caller for OnPlayerUse to always be the used entity.

Adjustments to player clipping and grenade clipping around windows, window covers, and vent entrance.

Fixed bug with layered materials with same surface property on all layers.

Purchase a Cologne 2026 Viewer Pass to receive an upgradable Cologne 2026 Coin and earn rewards through the Pick'Em Challenge.

Corrected an issue where weapon entities disallowing pickup were not showing the pickup weapon hint text.

Modified the finger animation on the Bayonet model for improved realism.

This plays at a 1:5 ratio.

Changed the activator for OnPlayerUse to always be the player.

Fixed bug that prevented the asset in use from being selected when model browser was opened.

Introduced a limit for ladder inaccuracy affecting players boosted by a stack of two or more players.

The caller for OnPlayerUse is now always the used entity.

Addressed a problem where x-ray silhouettes would get stuck when switching spectator targets.

Modified the model for window covers to show collision and decals when shot.

Issue occurred at the end of freeze time.

Six new music kits available in the STORE tab from NIGHTMODE Records.

Fixed bug that prevented the asset in use from being selected when model browser was opened.

The activator for OnPlayerUse is now always the player.

Resolved an issue with post-processing glitches when switching spectator targets on maps with different post-processing volumes.

Enhanced the consistency of grenade jump throws and the accuracy of the jump throw preview camera.

This music plays at a 1:5 ratio.

Continued updates to Cache and other miscellaneous fixes.

Made adjustments to player clipping and grenade clipping around windows, window covers, and vent entrance.

Fixed bug with layered materials with same surface property on all layers.

Adjustments made when leaving the ground and when landing.

Available in standard and StatTrak versions through the STORE tab.

Fixed a case where it was possible to cancel a grenade throw after the throw was started near the end of the pin pull animation.

Specifically at the end of freeze time.

Fixed bug with layered materials with same surface property on all layers.

Fixed a case where it was possible to cancel a grenade throw after the throw was started near the end of the pin pull animation.

Adjustments made when leaving the ground and when landing.

Fixed bug that prevented the asset in use from being selected when model browser was opened.

This music plays at a 1:5 ratio.

Available in standard and StatTrak versions through the STORE tab.

Issue occurred at the end of freeze time.

Adjustments made when leaving the ground and when landing.

Available in standard and StatTrak versions through the STORE tab.

The classic map Cache returns to the game, available in Casual, Competitive, Deathmatch, and Retakes modes.

Adjusted to more closely match firstperson animation

Adjusted to match thirdperson animation better

Cache is now available in Competitive, Casual, Deathmatch, and Retakes modes.

Poseidon has been updated to the latest version from the Community Workshop.

Adjusted to more closely match firstperson animation

Adjusted to match thirdperson animation better

Collision has been enabled on the tarp on boxes used around CT spawn.

Stronghold has been updated to the latest version from the Community Workshop.

Talon and Karambit knives are now held correctly while defusing.

Fixed issue where C4 equip sound was not getting interrupted by other equip sounds.

Fixed shader issue for AO while using alpha test causing overly dark and chunky silhouettes on railings.

Fixed a case where it was possible to hold no weapon by requesting a hand switch after throwing a grenade.

Revealed a previously hidden jump spot by uncovering the Mid Box (Xbox).

Removed the first-person death sound effect that played when the music kit death cue was inaudible.

Fixed several cases where crouch transitions in the air were instantaneous.

Camera motion due to recoil adjusted to match CS:GO more closely.

Poseidon has been updated to the latest version from the Community Workshop.

Fixed several cases where crouch transitions in the air were instantaneous.

Players will now experience full camera motion from aim punch regardless of network latency.

Stronghold has been updated to the latest version from the Community Workshop.

Players will now experience full camera motion due to aim punch regardless of network latency.

Removed first-person death sound effect that played when music kit death cue was inaudible.

Adjusted to match thirdperson animation better

Adjusted to match thirdperson animation better

Collision has been enabled on the tarp on boxes used around CT spawn.

Fixed shader issue for AO while using alpha test causing overly dark and chunky silhouettes on railings.

Fixed a case where it was possible to hold no weapon by requesting a hand switch after throwing a grenade.

Camera motion adjusted to match CS:GO more closely while maintaining bullet trajectory consistency.

Fixed issue where C4 equip sound was not getting interrupted by other equip sounds.

Cache is now available in Competitive, Casual, Deathmatch, and Retakes modes.

Talon and Karambit knives are now held correctly while defusing.

Adjusted to more closely match firstperson animation

Fixed a bug where MVP panel characters weren't resetting correctly.

Adjusted to more closely match firstperson animation

Revealed a previously hidden jump spot by uncovering the Mid Box (Xbox).

Fixed a bug where MVP panel characters weren't resetting correctly.

Improved player experience on very thin ledges.

Fixed a bug where MVP panel characters weren't resetting correctly.

Trade offers are now limited to 1,000 items.

Fixed several cases where crouch transitions in the air were instantaneous.

Camera motion due to recoil now matches CS:GO more closely while maintaining bullet trajectory consistency.

Players will now experience full camera motion from aim punch regardless of network latency.

Fixed several cases where crouch transitions in the air were instantaneous.

Players will now experience full camera motion due to external sources of aim punch regardless of network latency.

Fixed a bug where MVP panel characters weren't resetting correctly.

Camera motion due to recoil adjusted to match CS:GO more closely.

Fixed a bug that removed the delay between burst fire bullets.

Client may produce a fatal error message when attempting to connect to a server running a different build.

All third person animations have been re-authored and adjusted based on player feedback.

Updated CS2's animation system to Animgraph 2, reducing CPU and networking costs associated with animation.

Helps accentuate sounds during combat.

Adjusted in response to player feedback.

Improvements made in first and third-person.

Causing volume ducking for too long.

Uses a GPU query to prevent clipping through thin walls.

Adjustments made in Baggage, Shoots, Ancient, Nuke, and Vertigo.

Reduces CPU and networking costs associated with animation.

Occurs in some rare cases.

Players can now join friends in custom games directly from the Friends list, enhancing community gameplay.

Player height on ramps is now consistent regardless of approach direction.

At Fountain, Playground, and Long.

Due to the new player height logic.

Reloading now discards the used magazine and all remaining ammo, introducing higher stakes to the decision to reload.

Map guides can now be used during the first five rounds of competitive matches, with official guides available for Active Duty maps.

Many things rendering as solid black.

Shows up as a blinking weapon.

More gradual at edges of transition points.

Shows up as a blinking weapon.

Transitions in first and third-person have been smoothed.

In rare cases, an unintended camera shift occurred.

Adjustments made in Baggage, Shoots, Ancient, Nuke, and Vertigo.

Player height on ramps is now consistent and no longer depends on approach direction.

Issues at Fountain, Playground, and Long.

Animation was misbehaving.

Reduces CPU and networking costs associated with animation.

Idle animations stop during first-person weapon inspects.

Volume ducking was causing issues for too long.

Improved occlusion in Nuke and Vertigo.

Prevents players clipping through thin walls when not visible.

Helps accentuate jump landing sounds during combat.

All third-person animations have been adjusted based on player feedback.

Due to height logic changes, grenade lineups may have changed.

Featuring 17 finishes from community contributors and 22 all-new gloves as rare special items.

New server variable supports 3 values for annotation access levels.

The fill-level of the current weapon is now displayed below the ammo count.

Reloading now discards remaining ammo in the magazine for magazine-fed weapons.

Added minimal starter map guides for all Active Duty maps.

Determines how many rounds into the half guides are allowed, with an option for unlimited.

Players can join friends in Practice or Workshop maps through the friends menu if they have Open Party set.

Reserve ammunition is now shown as number of magazines, shells, or bullets based on the weapon.

Map guides available for the first 5 rounds of the half, with a maximum of 30 nodes.

The Dead Hand collection features 22 all-new gloves guaranteed to add style to your highlight reel.

Players can purchase Dead Hand Collection items from Dead Hand Terminals, available now as a possible weekly drop.

Adjusted reserve magazine counts for each weapon.

The X-Ray Scanner comes preloaded with a one-time exclusive non-tradable 'Genuine P250 | X-ray'.

Players in Germany and Netherlands will have an X-Ray Scanner tab in their Inventory to open containers.

Keyless Containers, like Souvenir Packages, can be opened without the X-Ray Scanner.

Access items in the Dead Hand Collection via the Dead Hand Terminal, available as a weekly drop.

Alpine map updated to the latest version from the Community Workshop.

The Dead Hand Collection features 17 finishes from community contributors and includes 22 all-new gloves as rare special items.

Fixed a pixel gap in a door Outside Long on Dust II.

Added ability to set your max offer limit for items in the Terminal.

Balcony at Bombsite A has been extended.

Clipping adjusted at small window next to Second Mid Balcony.

Fixed a bug where certain Entity methods would only work on CSPlayerPawns.

Fixed a bug where JUMP wouldn't trigger if the press didn't cross a tick boundary.

Fixed a slight tilt in the chicken running animation.

Graveyard at Bombsite A has been closed to the public.

Items listed for sale will remain in your inventory for use while they are listed.

Corrected a slight tilt in the chicken running animation.

Added methods for getting and setting angular velocity in Entity.

Adjusted clipping at the small window next to Second Mid Balcony.

Items listed for sale can be equipped while listed, but cannot be consumed or modified.

Fixed missing methods for checking if a player is ducking or not.

Fixed a bug where certain entity methods would only work on CSPlayerPawns.

Balcony at Bombsite A has been extended and Graveyard at Bombsite A has been closed to the public.

Fixed a bug where JUMP wouldn't trigger for specific input methods if the press didn't cross a tick boundary.

Added ability to set max offer limit for items in the Terminal.

Added methods for getting and setting clip and reserve ammo.

Called after all damage properties have been calculated, just before armor and health are modified.

CSDamageTypes was incorrectly exported under the name CSDamageType.

Map guides are interchangeable between de_ancient and de_ancient_night.

Workshop saves persist across installs.

Fixed broken cl_ent_bbox visualization for some classes of rigid dynamic entities.

Anubis returns with several gameplay adjustments.

Introducing the AK-47 | Aphrodite with mother-of-pearl accents and amber patina.

Minor adjustments made to SMGs, including the MP7 and MP5-SD.

Updated Sanctum to the latest version from the Community Workshop.

Resolved a performance issue when running CS2 without a sound device.

The Fourth Season introduces community content, in-game items, gameplay tweaks, and bug fixes.

Updated Warden to the latest version from the Community Workshop.

Made various adjustments to knife sounds.

New community maps include Stronghold, Alpine, Warren, Poseidon, and Sanctum.

Two new collections added to the weekly care package.

Adjusted hanging hard hat model render bounds to prevent shadow popping.

Added a one-time fuse extension to grenades that bounce off an enemy player to prevent air-bursting.

Implemented various stability improvements.

New Service Medal available starting January 1, 2026, for players reaching Global General (Rank 40).