Release notes

MAPS

Mirage has replaced Dust II on official Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test matchmaking servers.


WORKSHOP TOOLS

Introducing Counter-Strike 2 Workshop Tools which can be enabled and downloaded from in-game settings menu--these tools will allow community contributors to create weapon finishes, stickers, and maps.
Note: the Steam Community Workshop does not yet support uploading CS2 maps.

The level editor (Hammer) now leverages GPU accelerated raytracing to both preview and bake lighting for CS2 maps. This significantly speeds up compile times, but as a result a GPU capable of raytracing is required for Hammer to be fully functional.
Hammer GPU Minimum Specs:
Nvidia 2060Ti 6gb (2080Ti+ recommended)
AMD 6600XT (6800XT+ recommended)



WEAPONS

The player loadout has been revised:
Players have 1 Starting Pistol slot, 4 Pistol slots, 5 Mid-tier slots (previously "SMGs" and "Heavy"), and 5 Rifle slots, per team.
Assign any (side-appropriate) weapon to any slot within its category.
Supports drag-and-drop and has been redesigned to fit in on a single screen.

The in-game buy menu interface has been revised:
The wheel has been replaced with a grid showing all purchase options at the same time.
Teammate purchases are displayed on the buy menu.
Weapon "stats" display has been replaced with simple straightforward descriptions.
Players can now refund any purchase that was purchased in the same round and has not been used.

Existing CS:GO items on the Steam Community Market can be inspected in Counter-Strike 2.


SUB-TICK

Sub-tick movement is now more precise and less "floaty" (per player-feedback).
Releasing movement keys now correctly convey their sub-tick timing.
The top player of a triple-stack can now shoot.
Fine-tuned weapon aim punch recovery to be latency-independent during sub-tick recovery on the client.
Fine-tuned view punch camera shake effect during shooting to be both latency-independent and synchronized with all other sub-tick shooting effects on the client.



VOLUMETRIC SMOKE

Improved lighting/rendering when smoke overlaps multiple distinctly lit regions.
HE grenade effect times on smoke has been reduced.
Shotguns now create larger holes in smoke volumes.



ANIMATION

Adjustments to the viewmodel 'inspect' to remove animation popping.
Several viewmodel and blending animation fixes.
Improved traversal animation.
Jumping into the air and running off a ledge is now differentiated to allow for separate character motion.


SOUND
Player's own footstep sounds are now predicted on the client for a latency-independent experience.



RENDERING

Improved performance and responsiveness in windowed and full-screen windowed modes.
Fixed several bugs and rendering artifacts.



INPUT
Fixed bug that would cause input to become permanently broken when multiple commands were bound to one key. Multi-binds are back, except for jump-throw binds (which are now a skillful part of CS).
Commands bound to mouse wheels will now be reliably executed.
Fixed bug that would cause input to execute incorrectly after taking over a bot in practice mode.
Inspecting weapons is now predicted on the client for a more responsive experience.




VAC will now live ban and gracefully terminate the match at the end of the round (unless it was the last round and the cheater lost).
The match will not affect any participants' Skill Group.
Players that were not lobbied with the VAC-banned player will earn XP for match.