Counter-Strike 2
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Counter-Strike 2

For over two decades, Counter-Strike has offered an elite competitive experience, one shaped by millions of players from across the globe. And now the next chapter in the CS story is about to begin. This is Counter-Strike 2.

DEV: ValvePUB: ValveAppID 730
UPDATE PULSEevery ~6d·last 1d ago·18 recent on record

Is Counter-Strike 2 still being updated? — the short answer, with the evidence.

95.7
Excellent

Elixir Rating

85.8% of 9,883,837 Steam reviews are positive, which after adjusting for sample size gives a reception score of 85.8. The developers have shipped 14 substantial updates in the past six months, adding 9.9.

reception 85.8·support +9.9·Excellent

Computed from Steam’s own review tally and observable developer activity — never from anyone’s opinion of the game. How this is calculated

Should you look into this?

From Steam's own record

Development

Actively supported

Last heard from developers

yesterday

Usual rhythm

every ~4 days

Substantial updates (6 mo)

14

Current silence

within normal range

The developers post roughly every 4 days and were last heard yesterday — within their normal range. 14 substantial updates landed in the past six months, 1 of them major.

Distilled by the oracle

Our coverage

2 dispatches written from this game’s announcements

patchSep 30, 2026

CS2 Update Overhauls Crosshair System and Adjusts Elimination Timers

A new Counter-Strike 2 update, published September 23 2026, touches three distinct areas: elimination countdown timing, several map adjustments, and a significant rework of the crosshair system.

What changed

Timing and map

  • The maximum countdown-after-elimination time on end rooms and Convoy has been extended from 7 seconds to 14 seconds.
  • The countdown does not activate when an entire team is eliminated by suicides, team kills, or disconnects.
  • Warmup time after all players connect, freeze time, and technical timeout time are all reduced.
  • Various gap fixes and clipping adjustments have been made to maps.

Crosshair system

  • Thickness and length values are now defined in pixels rather than an arbitrary scale that previously produced different physical sizes at different resolutions.
  • The system automatically rescales pixel counts when display resolution changes — a crosshair configured at 1280×720 will proportionally rescale at 2560×1440.
  • A new option draws half-outlines, rendering only the top-left portions of the crosshair outline.
  • A static square crosshair style has been added.
  • A bug preventing 0 gap width from being respected has been fixed.
  • The minimum dynamic spread distance has been reduced to 64 pixels, intended to reflect real weapon spread and inaccuracy more legibly.

Other

  • Fixed a case where left-handed viewmodels would animate incorrectly.

For players who have spent time dialing in crosshair presets, the resolution-aware rescaling means existing configurations may need to be reviewed — but the new pixel-accurate foundation should make future adjustments far more predictable.

patchJul 2, 2026

Team Falcons Win IEM Cologne 2026 Major, New Shop Items Released

Team Falcons navigated what the announcement describes as the toughest Playoff bracket in Major history to win the IEM Cologne 2026 Major Championship — the organization's first.

The run to the title

The Falcons' path was notably unforgiving at every stage:

  • Quarterfinals: Defeated defending Major Champions Vitality 2-1, with each map requiring 24 rounds to decide.
  • Semifinals: Outlasted Team Spirit 2-1 in a series where two maps went to Overtime; the deciding map, Dust II, ended 16-12.
  • Grand Finals: Defeated FURIA 3-0 to claim the title.

What changed in the Major Shop

To mark the tournament's close, new items are now available in the Major Shop:

  • IEM Cologne 2026 Champions Autograph Stickers — featuring Paper, Holo, Foil, and Gold variants from Falcons players.
  • IEM Cologne 2026 Highlight Charms — 10 highlights covering each of the six stages of the Major, plus the Falcons' trophy-lifting moment.

For collectors, the timing is relevant: these items commemorate a specific tournament result, tying cosmetic purchases directly to a historic run through the bracket.

Two years of development

■ substantial ■ routine

Nov2025FebMayAugNov2026FebMayAug

54 announcements · 17 substantial · 17 months with nothing

Recent Transmissions

30 entries in codex

Community AnnouncementsSep 30, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\Various clipping fixes in Rush maps\Fixed visualization of weapon inaccuracy + spreadAdded crosshair outline color optionAdded a new style "Static Quadrant"Enabled grenade crosshairs in freeze time for insta-smokes (just hold any grenade a…

Community AnnouncementsSep 28, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\Fixed pixel-gaps in various Rush rooms.Clipping adjustments in T/CT Castle rooms.

Community AnnouncementsSep 25, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\Various gap fixes and clipping adjustments.\Fixed some cases where loud reloads would persist while trying to stealth reload.\Added sv_clantags_enabled option so custom servers can disable clan tags.The eggs of background players in main m…

Community AnnouncementsSep 24, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\Added a better description of the rules to the loading screen.Adjusted rules for determining when to kick players due to team damage.Various clipping adjustments.\Fixed a case where it was possible to get a slightly faster silent reload by…

Community AnnouncementsSep 23, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\Increased the maximum countdown-after-elimination time from 7 seconds to 14 seconds on end rooms and Convoy.The countdown-after-elimination time does not activate in cases where an entire team dies to suicides, team kills, and/or disconnec…

Read our dispatch on this

Read this patch for

GamingOnLinuxSep 23, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 adds an intense fast-paced 3v3 'Rush' game mode

This new Rush mode might be my favourite way to play Counter-Strike 2, giving you a faster-paced experience with shorter matches. Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/09/counter-strike-2-adds-an-intense-fast-paced-…

PlayGround.ru - официальная группаSep 23, 2026
Большое обновление для Counter-Strike 2 принесло в игру новый режим, бесшумную перезарядку и яйца

Тактический шутер Counter-Strike 2 получил очередной апдейт. В отличие от предыдущих балансных патчей, в этот раз разработчики из Valve решили удивить игроков, и обновление получилось действительно масштабным на нововведения. Апдейт весом 4…

Community AnnouncementsSep 22, 2026
Rush Hour

Put your foot on the gas and floor it. Welcome to Rush, a new fast-paced 3v3 queued mode for CS2. Experience the push and pull as you advance through a gauntlet of randomly-selected battle arenas, and dominate your opponent to win the match…

Community AnnouncementsSep 22, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\Updated the map selection process to give players more opportunities to play maps they've been learning.Map selection process:Team 1 picks one mapTeam 2 picks two mapsTeam 1 picks a final map. One of the four maps will be randomly selected…

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PlayGround.ru - официальная группаSep 19, 2026
Создатель Counter-Strike объяснил исчезновение классического режима со спасением заложников из-за киберспорта

Соавтор оригинальной Counter-Strike Мин Ли рассказал о причинах постепенного заката классического режима со спасением заложников, который стоял у истоков культовой франшизы. В рамках интервью независимому блогеру разработчик отметил, что ст…

Community AnnouncementsSep 9, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\CacheFixed various gaps in map.Fixed a wallbang spot on B site.Added a missing competitive CT spawn point.Added additional T spawn points.\Reworked CSPlayerCamera:Renamed it to CustomPlayerCamera.Added GetPlayer, GetMode, SetMode, and SetF…

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Community AnnouncementsAug 24, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\Added custom_hud_layout entity:custom_hud_layouts are the entry point for scripted maps to provide custom UI.Panel, Label, Image, and Button panel types are supported.Styling with css is supported.Events and client side scripting are not s…

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Community AnnouncementsAug 19, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\BoulderUpdated to the latest version from the Community Workshop (Update Notes)PoseidonUpdated to the latest version from the Community Workshop (Update Notes)\Fixed a case where player speed was too high when moving against walls.

Community AnnouncementsAug 12, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\FachwerkUpdated to the latest version from the Community Workshop (Update Notes)ShelterUpdated to the latest version from the Community Workshop (Update Notes)

Community AnnouncementsAug 3, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\Fixed a case where grenades could be thrown through level geometry\CacheFixed various gaps in mapFixed collision in various spots across mapFixed flickering on some assetsRemoved boost spot in Outside AShelterUpdated to the latest version …

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Community AnnouncementsJul 29, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\The Ranked Series stickers are now available for purchase. 50% of royalties are shared with players, teams, and the tournament organizer.Items in the the Cologne 2026 Shop will be available for purchase until September 29th.\Fixed a bug wh…

Community AnnouncementsJul 29, 2026
Cologne 2026: Ranked Series

https://clan.fastly.steamstatic.com/images/3381077/81b4cf3f2d2130bd4aed48bad3d2d5e5ee061756.png Today we're shipping the Ranked Series of Cologne 2026 Major stickers--new stickers that indicate a team's final standing in the design. As with…

Community AnnouncementsJul 20, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\The bomb damage health preview is now revealed when the bomb becomes audible.The bomb explosion now interacts with smoke grenade clouds and molotov/incendiary fire. \FachwerkUpdated to the latest version from the Community Workshop (Update…

Community AnnouncementsJul 16, 2026
Call II Arms-ory

Last week we released new weapon and sticker collections from our previous Call to Arms-ory. Congratulations to the artists who had their items included! Now that these items are available, we're looking for new items for one new weapon col…

Community AnnouncementsJul 15, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\FachwerkUpdated to the latest version from the Community Workshop (Update Notes).BoulderUpdated to the latest version from the Community Workshop (Update Notes).ShelterUpdated to the latest version from the Community Workshop (Update Notes…

Community AnnouncementsJul 9, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\Removed map-wide minimum one point of damage from new C4 explosions.Fixed a case where new C4 damage was calculated incorrectly near boundaries to other map areas.New C4 explosions now apply more force to dropped weapons.\Adjusted the "Sni…

Community AnnouncementsJul 8, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\Premier Season Five has begunAdded Cache to the Active Duty Map PoolRemoved Overpass from the Active Duty Map Pool\Re-designed effective range and extent of C4 explosion damage on all official defusal-mode maps.Damage is now applied accord…

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Community AnnouncementsJul 8, 2026
Season 5, Armory, and More

Reporting for Active Duty https://clan.fastly.steamstatic.com/images/3381077/bace68e72c87d8b04e5b28953e2de63dda54d9c8.png Cache has officially arrived, and replaces Overpass in the active duty map pool. Put your hard-earned strats to the te…

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PC GamerJul 4, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 might be the biggest game on Steam, but Global Offensive is breaking player count records since it went standalone again

nytime you're talking about the hottest game on Steam, there's an evergreen unspoken caveat: 'after Counter-Strike, of course.' CS2 is unquestionably Steam's killer app—it has well over a million concurrent players as I write this according…

Community AnnouncementsJul 3, 2026
The Jackass Sticker Capsule

https://clan.fastly.steamstatic.com/images/3381077/cc6a469cea898157d07b667ed256a3801cd737e2.png Today we’re excited to release the Jackass Sticker Capsule in association with Paramount Games Studio, Jackass graphic artist Andy Jenkins, and …

Community AnnouncementsJul 1, 2026
Team Falcons' Finale

https://clan.fastly.steamstatic.com/images/3381077/97e2906ad1381f57c881ca5049649e1d38001ac3.jpgTaking on the toughest Playoff bracket in Major history, the Falcons made a triumphant statement at the IEM Cologne 2026 Major. Facing the defend…

Read our dispatch on this
Community AnnouncementsJul 1, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\Champions Autograph Stickers are now available for purchase in the Major Shop, congratulations to the Falcons!Highlight Souvenir Charms are now available for purchase in the Major Shop, featuring 10 highlights for each of the six stages of…

Community AnnouncementsJun 20, 2026
The IEM Cologne 2026 Grand Finals

https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/3381077/9f1d1c4b0485c1e7b3b667d4a7c748bd55c5bb46.png Following one of the most unforgettable days in Major playoff history, Saturday's Semifinals left two teams standing in pursuit of a Major Champ…

Community AnnouncementsJun 17, 2026
Playoffs at the "Cathedral of Counter-Strike"

Playoffs at the IEM Cologne 2026 Major begin tomorrow and the "Cathedral of Counter-Strike" awaits. https://clan.fastly.steamstatic.com/images/3381077/c9131e2a48d99e4396581c0faa68467307e993c3.png For the second consecutive Major, FURIA and …

Community AnnouncementsJun 10, 2026
Counter-Strike 2 Update

\Added display of lowest and highest sticker price in the last 7 days in the Cologne 2026 Major Shop.Added stickers showcase to the Cologne 2026 Major Hub tile on the main menu.\Added multi-select functionality in Storage Units deposit/retr…