Counter-Strike 2 News

Release Notes for 3/30/2023

[ NETWORKING ]
- Multiple network traffic optimizations.
- Shooting random seeds are now correctly desynchronized between server and client code.

[ VISUALS ]
- Fixed positions of overhead labels and ping elements at different resolutions.
- Fixed halo around enemies to not give away their locations.
- Bomb code will now correctly clear when aborting the bomb plant.
- Fixed rare inspect animations to be rare and not every anim.
- Inspect then reload ("f", "r", "f", "r") more closely matches CS:GO behavior.
- Disabled all development console commands (including "cl_physics_highlight_active 5").

[ GAMEPLAY ]
- HE grenades no longer affect smokes through walls.
- Disabled collisions between ragdolls.
- Players will no longer drop weapons when getting a bonus weapon in Deathmatch.
- Trajectory preview for decoy grenades is now correct.
- Improved behavior of picking up weapons with the use key.

[ INPUT SYSTEM ]
- Buy menu and scoreboard now allow movement while they have focus.
- Team intro allows voice chat.
- Keys will no longer get stuck when opening the steam overlay.
- Fixed many cases where user input would get confused.
- Multiple actions cannot be bound to one key.

[ SOUND ]
- Adjustments to smoke grenade sound timing at a distance.
- Fixed a bug where flashbang or grenade sound effect would remain if player died while having that sound effect active.
- Added dedicated player-only sound when a grenade is correctly jump-thrown.
- Fixed chat wheel lines to be restricted to legitimate chat wheel lines that can be configured in game options.

[ DUST II ]
- Fixed a hole in the wall.

Counter-Strike 2 launch could be soon as Valve unveils brand-new logo

Surely the Counter-Strike 2 release date will be here soon. I mean, come on. First we had all those potential CSGO Source 2 updates in Steam. After that, Valve filed new trademarks for something called 'CS2.' And now, we've got a brand-new Counter-Strike logo, that seems to contain another cheeky hint for Counter-Strike 2. A new release of the flagship FPS game must be on its way.

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Dust 2, Mirage, Train - CS:GO's maps are a-changin'

It looks like several of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive maps have seen pretty big changes in the latest CS:GO update. Dust 2, Train, and Mirage have been on the receiving end of the more game-changing tweaks, but Cache and Studio have seen some adjustments, too.

As spotted by our sister site The Loadout, the CS:GO Dust 2, Mirage, and Train updates have arrived as part of the latest patch developer Valve's rolled out. First up, the FPS game's Mirage map has seen the most substantial adjustments. The devs have added an "AWP wallbang spot" by the Palace scaffolding, meaning players who stop there are now vulnerable to attacks from within the building.

In addition, the T entrance to mid is now wider than before which should give a better view of connector, and the B site balcony's trim is now lower than it was pre-update, revealing jump peeks more obviously to the T-side. Plus, you can now find a bench in mid "allowing [you to] jump up to window boost spot/peek towards cat".

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Bingeing CS:GO won't get you into Counter-Strike 2's test faster, Valve say

After weeks of teases and rumours, Counter-Strike 2 invaded the internet to confirm that, yes, it was a real thing and not a figment of the community's shared imagination. It’s fully launching this summer, and Valve have been holding a limited access test since the pseudo-sequel's announcement. They’ve been inviting select players based on factors that are important to the dev team, such as trust factor, Steam account standing, and recent playtime on Valve servers. But last night, Valve shook their finger like a stern parent, informing fans that playing more Counter-Strike: Global Offensive wouldn’t get them into the CS2 test any faster.

Counter-Strike 2 was officially revealed just this week, and with that CS:GO has recently broken a record for highest number of concurrent players.

CS:GO might be more than a decade old, but that doesn't mean it isn't still performing incredibly well. As spotted by Eurogamer, heading over to SteamDB will tell you that the team-based shooter has hit a massive new player peak of 1.5 million (or 1,519,457 to be specific) this weekend. That's 1.5 million players concurrently, to be clear, as in that many people all playing the shooter at one time, certainly impressive for such an old title. This new record also makes it the game with the second-biggest concurrent player count ever, behind PUBG Battlegruonds' own record of 3.2 million - a bit of a difference.

This record is just the newest one this year, as it actually achieved a record of 1.4 million players just a couple of weeks ago. It wouldn't be entirely unsurprising that the announcement of Counter-Strike 2 played a role in encouraging so many players to jump into the game at once.