The Starladder Budapest Major 2025
November 13, 2025
As 2025 comes to an end, the StarLadder Budpest Major 2025 is set to begin. Join us as the first stage begins on Monday, November 24th!All three stages of the StarLadder Budapest Major will be played in front of live crowds at MTK Sportpark, and for the first time at a Counter-Strike Major, the Grand Finals will be best of five. Now more than ever, the Major Champions will need to prove their quality by winning three maps in the Active Duty Map Pool.Make Your PicksYou can begin supporting your favorite teams participating in the Major with the Budapest 2025 Viewer Pass.
Your activated Budapest 2025 Viewer Pass includes a coin that can be upgraded by playing the Pick'Em challenge. Pass holders gain access to unlimited team graffiti for the duration of the event and can earn and purchase Souvenir Tokens, which can be redeemed for a Souvenir from the match of your choice.
And back by popular demand, Playoff Souvenirs for the StarLadder Budapest Major come with Souvenir Charms, featuring highlights from the match! Get Your StickersWith the release of the Viewer Pass and Pick'Em Challenge, we are also releasing StarLadder Budapest Major tournament stickers, featuring logos of every team and signatures of every player participating in the Major.
Slab Your StickersNot ready to apply your favorite sticker? We got you! Today we are introducing Sticker Slabs—charms that let you show off a sticker with no commitment. Later, just break the slab to return the sticker to your inventory.
Your activated Budapest 2025 Viewer Pass includes a coin that can be upgraded by playing the Pick'Em challenge. Pass holders gain access to unlimited team graffiti for the duration of the event and can earn and purchase Souvenir Tokens, which can be redeemed for a Souvenir from the match of your choice.
And back by popular demand, Playoff Souvenirs for the StarLadder Budapest Major come with Souvenir Charms, featuring highlights from the match! Get Your StickersWith the release of the Viewer Pass and Pick'Em Challenge, we are also releasing StarLadder Budapest Major tournament stickers, featuring logos of every team and signatures of every player participating in the Major.
Slab Your StickersNot ready to apply your favorite sticker? We got you! Today we are introducing Sticker Slabs—charms that let you show off a sticker with no commitment. Later, just break the slab to return the sticker to your inventory.
Introducing TrueView
November 05, 2025
Today we're adding a new feature to demo playback called TrueView. With TrueView, demo playback will match the player's original experience much more closely.Previously, demo playback showed the server's view of the world, without accounting for network latency. This could be confusing because shots would hit that didn't look like they should have, and vice versa. TrueView provides a more accurate representation of the observed player's experience by re-running their client-side prediction.The video below shows the difference between the old demo playback and the same playback with TrueView.A few caveats:
- By default, TrueView is deactivated when the version of the game you are using to view the demo does not match the version of the game used to record the demo.
- Even with TrueView active, there may still be some differences between what you see in the demo and what the player originally saw (especially with slow-motion playback). For example, damage effects will have different timing during demo playback due to the way CPU and GPU work are pipelined.
- In addition to performing clientside prediction of the observed player, TrueView will also perform Damage Prediction on enemies, if Damage Prediction was used by the observed player at the time.
Counter-Strike 2 Update
November 05, 2025
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- Fixed a case where air acceleration was clamped incorrectly while surfing.
- Fixed a case where slowly surfing up a ramp was handled incorrectly due to misidentification as a jump apex.
- Fix a bug causing "Delay Sniper Rifle Un-Scope after Shot" to be inconsistent.
- Added TrueView demo playback, which reconstructs the observed player's original experience more accurately by re-running client-side prediction.
- TrueView playback will show the effects of Damage Prediction, if it was enabled by the observed player at the time.
- TrueView does not reconstruct the precise timings of rendered frames, so some differences between the original player's experience and TrueView playback will remain, especially in very slow motion playback. The player's frame at the time when the mouse was clicked, which is used for hit registration, is shown accurately to the nearest demo playback frame. However, reaction effects such as recoil, muzzle flash, blood splatter, and ragdoll are delayed while playing the game by one or two frames due to the way CPU and GPU work is pipelined, and will not appear at the same time during demo playback.
- TrueView demo playback might not work properly on old demos and is disabled by default if the playback client version does not match the client version when the demo was recorded. You can set cl_demo_predict 2 to override this.
- Fixed a bug causing third person models to not animate smoothly.
- Fixed a bug causing time to lurch forward by one tick when unpausing a demo.
- Animation fixes for G3SG1 bolt.
- Fixed developer console scrollbar to accept mouse clicks.
Counter-Strike 2 Update
October 30, 2025
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- Improved player movement prediction when colliding with other moving players.
- Added scope in/out sound prediction to play immediately for local player.
- Retake loadout cards will now randomly offer M4A1-S or M4A4 if player has both equipped in their CT loadout.
- Added Body Armor to 4v3, 4 Bad Guys Left, and Blind Fire cards.
- Added Dual Berettas to T Blind Fire card.
- Replaced Flashbang with HE Grenade on CT Enemy Loadout Card
- Fixed idle animations on CZ75-Auto, SSG 08, AUG, Galil AR.
- Performance improvements.
- Stability improvements.
- Improvements to animation fidelity during demo playback.
Counter-Strike 2 Update
October 24, 2025
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- Increased matchmaking party size for Retakes to allow 4 players in a party.
- Fixed a case where players joining Retakes round during freeze time could spawn at a wrong spawn point.
- Fixed bot manager logic to make room for players by first kicking dead bots and bots who are not controlled by a human.
- Stability improvements.
Counter-Strike 2 Update
October 23, 2025
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- Adding Retakes as official game mode supporting Defusal Group Alpha and Defusal Group Delta maps on official matchmaking servers.
- Fixed Molotov and Smoke interaction logic in cases when multiple smokes are active in the map.
- Updated Golden to the latest version from Steam Community Workshop (Update Notes)
- Updated Palacio to the latest version from Steam Community Workshop (Update Notes)
- Updated Rooftop to the latest version from Steam Community Workshop (Update Notes)
- Adjustments to top of Quad and under Balcony to improve visibility.
- Various optimizations.
- Extended functionality of the "Trade Up Contract" to allow exchanging 5 items of Covert quality as follows:
- 5 StatTrak™ Covert items can be exchanged for one StatTrak™ Knife from a collection of one of the items provided
- 5 regular Covert items can be exchanged for one regular Knife item or one regular Gloves item from a collection of one of the items provided
- Performance optimizations when the game is in the main menu and item inspect UI
- Fixed inventory item icons sometimes rendering in blurry state or not rendering
- Fixed several server-only sound events to not start multiple times
- Stability improvements
Re-Retakes
October 23, 2025
The bomb has been planted and you're running out of time. It's the return of retakes! In this classic game mode, each round drops you in to a fast-paced 4v3 after-plant scenario. Select your loadout card each round, check the map to coordinate with your teammates, and use your resources wisely to defuse (or defend) the planted bomb.The clock is ticking, what are you waiting for? Jump into a retakes server now!
Counter-Strike 2 Update
October 16, 2025
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- Fixed a case of incorrect damage report data at the end of the rounds.
- Updated King Crasswater and Queen Ava stickers for clarity.
- Skinning fixes on Driver Gloves and Sport Gloves.
- Fixed a crash when playing back some demo files.
- Stability improvements.
Counter-Strike 2 Update
October 15, 2025
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- Updated engine code to the latest version of Source 2.
- Reworked bullet penetration simulation to reduce CPU usage.
- Improved core utilization of some client particle and sound effects processing, reducing overall CPU usage when players are shooting.
- Defusing C4 will now lower the viewmodel weapon, prevent scoping, and delay firing the weapon by 150ms after exiting the defuse.
- C4 will no longer detonate in the middle of halftime intermission or after the end of the match.
- Fixed a case where 1 tick was incorrectly subtracted from sv_predictable_damage_tag_ticks.
- Major Highlight clips are now viewable from the Spectator Loadout.
- Selected player is now more visible in the Team Counter.
- Context menu in the Inventory now opens in a position relative to the cursor.
- HUD weapon mode indicator has been moved to the ammo count.
- Raindrops are now removed from weapons when switching to a dry inspect environment.
- cs_script enums can now be imported and behave the same as TypeScript enums.
- CSWeaponType.PISTOL == 1
- CSWeaponType\ == "PISTOL"
- Added enums CSRoundEndReason, CSHitGroup, CSLoadoutSlot, CSDamageTypes, CSDamageFlags and CSWeaponAttackType
- Added BOOSTS value to CSGearSlot. This is the gear slot for healthshots.
- Updated Instance.OnRoundEnd to now receive the reason
- Updated Instance.OnBeforePlayerDamage to now receive damageType and damageFlags and the result can now modify damageType and damageFlags
- Updated Instance.OnPlayerDamage to now receive damageType and damageFlags
- Updated Instance.OnKnifeAttack to now receive attackType
- Updated Instance.TraceLine, Instance.TraceSphere and Instance.TraceBox
- The trace config now accepts an array of ignore entities or just one
- The trace config can specify to trace against hitboxes
- The trace result will include hitGroup if tracing against hitboxes
- Updated Instance.BulletTrace result to include hitGroup
- Updated Entity.TakeDamage to accept damageType and damageFlags
- Added CSWeaponData.GetGearSlot()
Counter-Strike 2 Pre-Release Update
October 14, 2025
A new pre-release build (“1.41.1.3-rc1”) is now available in the CS2 beta depot. This build is not compatible with public matchmaking.For instructions on how to opt into a CS2 beta depot build, visit the following page: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9847-WHXC-7326\
- Updated engine code to the latest version of Source 2.
- Reworked bullet penetration simulation to reduce CPU usage.
- Improved core utilization of some client particle and sound effects processing, reducing overall CPU usage when players are shooting.
- Defusing C4 will now lower the viewmodel weapon, prevent scoping, and delay firing the weapon by 150ms after exiting the defuse.
- Fixed a case where 1 tick was incorrectly subtracted from sv_predictable_damage_tag_ticks.
- Major Highlight clips are now viewable from the Spectator Loadout.
- Selected player is now more visible in the Team Counter.
- Context menu in the Inventory now opens in a position relative to the cursor.
- HUD weapon mode indicator has been moved to the ammo count.
- cs_script enums can now be imported and behave the same as TypeScript enums.
- CSWeaponType.PISTOL == 1
- CSWeaponType\ == "PISTOL"
- Added enums CSRoundEndReason, CSHitGroup, CSLoadoutSlot, CSDamageTypes, CSDamageFlags and CSWeaponAttackType
- Added BOOSTS value to CSGearSlot. This is the gear slot for healthshots.
- Updated Instance.OnRoundEnd to now receive the reason
- Updated Instance.OnBeforePlayerDamage to now receive damageType and damageFlags and the result can now modify damageType and damageFlags
- Updated Instance.OnPlayerDamage to now receive damageType and damageFlags
- Updated Instance.OnKnifeAttack to now receive attackType
- Updated Instance.TraceLine, Instance.TraceSphere and Instance.TraceBox
- The trace config now accepts an array of ignore entities or just one
- The trace config can specify to trace against hitboxes
- The trace result will include hitGroup if tracing against hitboxes
- Updated Instance.BulletTrace result to include hitGroup
- Updated Entity.TakeDamage to accept damageType and damageFlags
- Added CSWeaponData.GetGearSlot()