CS2 News
Patches, updates and breakdowns of what changes inside Counter-Strike 2, written from Valve official notes on the day they land.
Latest here: September 23, 2026
CS2 Update: Rush Mode and Silent Reloads
Silent reloads, a soundless un-scope, the 3v3 Rush mode, picks instead of bans in Premier, and crosshairs that no longer depend on your resolution.
Why CS2 Has So Many Cheaters: Where VAC Bans Went
CS2 Patch: Demo Chat Encrypted, Cache Fixes
Fake VAC Ban in CS2: An Exploit That Cancels Matches
CS2 Roster News: NIP Lose Their IGL
What lands in this feed
Every CS2 update gets taken apart here on release day: weapons, maps, modes and what the change actually does in a round. Two narrower feeds sit alongside this one, patch notes only and analytics.
Match scores, transfers and interviews do not go here: this is a feed about the game, not about the scene. Live matches, brackets and standings live in the esports section, and pro configs are in the settings database.
Facts come from Valve posts in Steam. When something is reconstructed from game files or found by players rather than announced, that is stated in the text itself, because those reconstructions regularly disagree with each other.
All News
Valve Leak: What CS:GO Looked Like in 2011
A 12 TB archive of old Valve builds surfaced online. Inside are CS:GO prototypes from 2011 running on CS:Source, draft maps and a cut game mode.
September 2, 2026
StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026: Teams
StarSeries Fall 2026 runs 17–20 September for $500,000 and eight teams. Five sit in the HLTV top 10, NAVI defend the title, and the event moved out of Finland.
September 2, 2026
CS2 Shadows: Why 4:3 Shows You Less Than 16:9
At BLAST Open Porto a Lynn Vision player missed an enemy shadow: on 4:3 distant shadows are not drawn, on 16:9 they are. The finding and data from 893 pros.
August 30, 2026
CS2 Roster Moves: Luminosity, MIBR and EF
CS2 roster week: yxngstxr left HEROIC for Luminosity, MIBR benched brnz4n, Eternal Fire signed soulfly and bought out jottAAA, BC.Game released aNdu.
August 27, 2026
BLAST Porto: NAVI and Vitality Lose Openers
BLAST Open Porto 2026 opens with upsets: M80 came back from 0:1 against NAVI, Inner Circle swept a mezii-less Vitality. Spirit, G2, FURIA and MOUZ won 2:0.
August 27, 2026
Spirit Win Esports World Cup 2026: Final 3:1
Team Spirit won the Esports World Cup 2026 CS2 event, beating FUT Esports 3:1 in the final; donk was named MVP. Both finalists, the upsets and the bracket.
August 25, 2026
CS2 Crosshair Codes: 885 Pros Decoded
CS2 crosshair codes from 885 pros, decoded: 98% run the classic static style, median size 1, thickness 1, gap −4, 9% keep a dot. Codes of donk, ZywOo and NiKo.
August 23, 2026
FISSURE Playground 3: Teams, Format and Prize Pool
FISSURE Playground 3: $1M, 16 teams and Suzhou. Format, the full field with HLTV ranks, the prize breakdown and why the event was renamed.
August 20, 2026
BLAST Open Porto 2026: Teams, Format and Prize Pool
BLAST Open Porto 2026: 16 teams, $1.1M and the entire HLTV top six. Format, groups, the Copenhagen and Porto stages, and the prize breakdown.
August 20, 2026
FURIA fe Leave for VALORANT: Women's CS Loses Its Flagship
The ESL Impact Season 7 champions are leaving CS as a full five. How the league freeze collapsed the women's scene, and what is left.
August 18, 2026
Passion UA Owes Up to $600K: Stickers, Rolexes, Dubai Account
HLTV: Passion UA owes its former roster $500-600K, mostly Budapest Major sticker money. Promised Rolexes, a Dubai bank account and Zinchenko's exit.
August 18, 2026
FACEIT Returned 71.9M Elo: Inside the Season 8 Ban Report
109,232 bans, 570,791 overturned matches and 71.9M Elo back to 1.2M players. Who really steals your rating on FACEIT, and how you get it back.
August 16, 2026
Passion UA Is Gone: Visas, Stickers and a Stripped Roster
try blamed visa issues and three weeks of practice in three months for the death of Passion UA. How Zinchenko's club lost its roster in one summer.
August 16, 2026
Vitality Out of the Top Four for the First Time in Two Years
Vitality dropped 188 VRS points in two months, falling out of the top four for the first time since 2024. The three events that broke them, and what comes next.
August 12, 2026
CS2 Anti-Cheat Hole Patched: What We Know About VACnet
Valve admitted in patch notes that a bug let cheaters avoid VACnet. What was fixed, how many accounts actually get banned, and what happens to their skins.
August 12, 2026
1win Sign TDK Roster: nafany and Ax1Le Finally Have an Org
1win swapped their whole CS2 roster in two days: the old five benched, TDK promoted. The story of a team that played six months at a loss.
August 12, 2026
Esports World Cup 2026 CS2: Groups, Schedule and Prize Pool
Esports World Cup 2026 CS2: 32 teams, $2M and Paris. Groups, format, playoff schedule and the day-one upset: JiJieHao took down Spirit.
August 12, 2026
Cologne Major Stickers Reissued: $60 Cap Instead of $1,500
Valve shipped a second batch of Cologne Major 2026 stickers, with team placements and a $60 price cap instead of $1,500. Why the token shop needed fixing.
July 29, 2026
CS2 Map Pool in 2026: The Current Active Duty Lineup
The CS2 map pool in 2026: Cache replaces Overpass in Active Duty. All seven maps, the rotation history, and what else joined the reserve pool.
July 27, 2026
Donk Wrecks FACEIT: 95 Kills and the World's Best K/D
donk dropped 95 kills and 3 aces in a single FACEIT match, then finished the season ranked #1 in the world for K/D at 1.65 with a peak ELO of 5360.
July 26, 2026
Summer 2026 CS2 Rostermania: July's Biggest Transfers
July 2026 CS2 transfers in one place: Luminosity are back, G2 sign r1nkle, Astralis hire NEO as coach. Every move of summer rostermania, dated.
July 26, 2026
JT Delivers on Debut: Liquid Sweep Vitality 2-0 at BLAST Bounty
Liquid (#31) swept Vitality (#2) in captain JT's first match: Anubis 13-10, Nuke 13-9. EliGE dropped 42 frags at a 1.52 rating. Upset breakdown.
July 25, 2026
Liquid Change Their Captain: JT Officially Takes the Reins
Team Liquid have announced IGL JT; siuhy is benched after over a year at the helm. The reasons, the new roster, and a debut against Vitality this Friday.
July 23, 2026
The Major Sticker Crisis: $600k to $120k in a Single Tournament
The Token Shop killed capsules, and Major sticker revenue collapsed from $600k to $120k. Who calls it a catastrophe and why tier-2 orgs are hit hardest.
July 20, 2026BLAST Bounty Season 2: Format, Teams, Schedule and Storylines
BLAST Bounty Season 2 kicks off July 21: 32 teams hunting $1.15M in bounties, with rebuilt MOUZ, HEROIC and Liquid debuting. Format, schedule, storylines.
July 19, 2026
HEROIC Claim First Trophy with Brollan: 3:0 over K27 at Stake Ranked
HEROIC swept K27 in the Stake Ranked Episode 3 grand final, 3:0. The first title for the Brollan roster and the club's first trophy in 14 months.
July 19, 2026
Brollan on Joining HEROIC: "I Needed Something Refreshing"
Brollan opens up on leaving MOUZ and joining HEROIC: how the club broke the news, why he is no longer an IGL, and what a six-day practice window feels like.
July 17, 2026
PR Returns to MOUZ, Completing the Roster Rebuild
MOUZ have signed PR from GamerLegion: the academy graduate returns to close out the rebuild. The new roster, his form in numbers, and what comes next.
July 14, 2026
Valve Reverses Policy: karrigan Gets His Major Trophy
karrigan received the in-game trophy for winning IEM Cologne Major. Under Valve's old policy, substitutes got nothing. What changed and for whom.
July 13, 2026
slaxejezzz on PARIVISION: coach dastan and the big stage
HLTV interview breakdown: PARIVISION rookie slaxejezzz on coach dastan, the mindset shift, and a debut event that led to a grand final.
July 12, 2026
FaZe coach enkay J on the broky-to-JBOEN swap
FaZe coach enkay J on the broky-to-JBOEN swap: the call was set after Barcelona, and the loaned Dane's debut surprised even the staff.
July 11, 2026
Falcons: Second-Hardest Playoff Run in Major History
How Falcons navigated the second-hardest playoff run in Major history at IEM Cologne 2026. A breakdown using HLTV's methodology.
July 11, 2026
CS2 hotfix (July 9, 2026): minimum C4 damage removed
The July 9, 2026 CS2 hotfix tunes the C4 blast from the big patch: map-wide minimum damage removed, boundary damage calculation fixed. All 7 changes.
July 10, 2026
NRG sign hallzerk and bring back Jeorge, oSee benched
NRG have signed Norwegian AWPer hallzerk and brought Jeorge back from Voca. oSee is benched after a LAN slump. The new NRG roster and the reasoning.
July 10, 2026
fnatic sign mazay, bench Br4tkO in Ukrainian rebuild
fnatic have signed 17-year-old rifler mazay from Spirit Academy and benched Br4tkO, completing an all-Ukrainian roster led by IGL fEAR.
July 9, 2026
Liquid swap AWPers: Jorko in, ultimate benched
Team Liquid have swapped AWPers: 22-year-old ultimate is benched and 17-year-old Jorko arrives from FOKUS. Here's the new roster and the reasoning.
July 9, 2026
New CS2 collections: all Arabesque and Spy Tech skins
CS2's July update added two weapon collections: Arabesque and Spy Tech, 17 skins each. Here are the full lists and the rarest Covert skins.
July 9, 2026
CS2 Season 5: C4 blast reworked, Cache returns
CS2 Season 5 arrived with the July update: the C4 blast became a shockwave that dies around corners instead of ignoring cover, and Cache is back in Active Duty.
July 9, 2026
kyxsan joins Aurora after being benched by Falcons
IGL Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski has officially joined Aurora, completing the team's summer rebuild. A fresh start after Falcons benched him in April.
July 8, 2026
Johnny Speeds bench nawwk, Lekr0 and coach friberg
Sweden's Johnny Speeds have benched AWPer nawwk and captain Lekr0 and parted ways with coach friberg after an inconsistent CS2 season.
July 8, 2026
XSE Pro League Guangzhou 2026: $1,000,000 and 16 Teams in China
XSE Pro League Guangzhou 2026: a CS2 tournament with a $1,000,000 prize pool. 16 teams in Guangzhou: FaZe, NiP, BetBoom, TYLOO. Format, teams, bracket.
July 4, 2026
Legendary CS Moments: Sauce, Graffiti and Stained Glass
Legendary Counter-Strike moments immortalized by Valve and the community: sauce cans for magixx's clutch, olofmeister & coldzera graffiti, s1mple glass.
July 2, 2026
Best CS Majors: Ranked from Worst to Best
From Berlin 2019 to the Cloud9 comeback in Boston and the record-breaking Stockholm: every CS Major ranked by how much it actually mattered.
June 27, 2026
NiKo Finally Lifts the Trophy: Falcons Win IEM Cologne
Falcons swept FURIA 3:0 in the IEM Cologne Major 2026 final to win their first Major: NiKo got his title, m0NESY took MVP, and viewership set a CS record.
June 25, 2026
Goodbye, Overpass: Cache Returns to Ranked CS2
On June 22 Valve confirmed it: Premier Season 5 brings Cache into Active Duty and drops Overpass after a year. We break down the change and the skin collection.
June 25, 2026
IEM Cologne 2026 Major: Standings, Results, and Playoff Schedule
The most prestigious CS2 Major of 2026: who made playoffs, what upsets already happened, and what to expect in the final stage.
June 14, 2026
Best CS2 Cases to Open in 2026: ROI and the Real Math
Which cases actually pay off and which are money pits. We break down ROI, drop probabilities, and the honest math behind CS2 case opening.
June 13, 2026
CS2 Skin Tiers, Float and What Pros Own
How rarity tiers and float actually work, why the AWP Asiimov never comes in Factory New, and where those tables of "277 pros" come from.
June 13, 2026
Cologne 2026 Stickers: How the Token Shop and Prices Work
Valve ditched capsules and launched a Token Shop with dynamic pricing. A full set of stickers costs $19,447. We break down how it all works, what's good, and where Valve dropped the ball.
June 13, 2026
Best CS2 Pro Crosshairs 2026: Share Codes and Settings
ZywOo, donk, NiKo, m0NESY, sh1ro, device: crosshair codes for the world's top 6 players with full settings. Paste the code and you're done.
June 13, 2026
Steam Account Value: How Much Is Yours Worth
CS2 inventory, game library, Steam level, rare items: we break down every factor in account value and the best tools to calculate it.
June 13, 2026
CS2 Patch June 11, 2026: Price History and Storage Multi-Select
Valve dropped a QoL patch right in the middle of IEM Cologne Major. 7-day sticker price history is now in-game. Multi-select in Storage Units, finally.
June 11, 2026
Steam Is Ending Physical Gift Cards in 2026
From late 2026, physical Steam cards will disappear from retail stores. 14 years of fighting scammers, and Valve lost. Digital cards remain.
June 10, 2026
Greatest CS Major Matches: 5 Finals That Became Legends
NaVi undefeated in Stockholm, coldzera's jumping AWP on Mirage, fnatic's forfeit, and North America's first Major: five matches that changed CS:GO history.
May 20, 2026
Steam Market for CS2: Float in the Listing
The Steam Market now shows float, pattern and stickers without opening the game: what changed in May 2026 and why it matters when buying skins.
May 13, 2026
Cache Is Back in CS2 After 7 Years: Full Breakdown
Valve brought Cache back on April 29, 2026, seven years after removing it: bought from FMPONE and rebuilt for Source 2. Already in Competitive and FACEIT.
April 29, 2026
VAC in CS2 2026: 960,000 Bans and the Fight Against Cheaters
In one year Valve banned nearly a million accounts, hit innocent players by mistake and beat "undetectable" DMA cheats: CS2 anti-cheat in 2025–2026.
April 20, 2026
CS2 Armory Pass: Is It Worth Buying in 2026?
The Armory Pass costs $15.99 and gives 40 credits. The exact math: when the pass pays off through cases, and when the limited skin is money down the drain.
January 22, 2026
CSMO: Fan-Made CS:GO Mobile Port Beats Valorant to Launch
The Trymiss team announced Counter-Strike: Mobile Offensive, a full CS:GO port for iOS and Android. Launching November 2026, ahead of global Valorant Mobile.
June 20, 2025