One year since CS2's arrival

As of today, Counter-Strike 2 completed it's first year since it was made public. Valve took to X on this very day last year, announcing Counter-Strike 2, a rebrand and rework of CS:GO. On 22nd March 2023, a handful of users were invited to try out a limited test build of the game.

The game now leveraged powerful, sophisticated Source 2 tools and introduced new concepts such as volumetric and responsive smokes which could potentially make or break the Counter-Strike meta. A new sub-tick system was introduced but players could only try all this out on Dust 2.

A month later, Valve replaced Dust 2 with Mirage and introduced a new buy-menu which included a refund option. A new loadout system was introduced to make players decide the type of cavalry they wanted to bring into a match. Maps were in rotation, replacing one another every two weeks or so, giving Valve crucial diagnostic data.

All maps were shipped together in late July and in early September 2023 a reworked Premier mode was introduced with a new CS Ratings system and leaderboards. With this update, a fully overhauled Inferno and Map-based ranks in competitive was also introduced.

Counter-Strike 2 was released as a full-fledge title replacing CS:GO on 28th September 2024. Despite the "full" launch, the game missed several game-modes that catered to the casual player-base like Arms Race and Danger Zone.

The new sub-tick system came with it's share of flaws, making way for the infamous Michael-Jackson peek, massive peeker's advantage and inconsistencies in visual synchronization which were all dealt with in subsequent updates.

In November 2023, community maps were added back with workshop tools that leveraged Source 2's full potential, improving the overall mapping workflow and streamlining the process. For a while, 4-stack queues were disabled in Premier mode and when re-introduced, a votekick immunity was added to solo-queue players against 4-stacks.

A colossal update in early February 2024, saw the reintroduction of Arms Race and CS2's first weapons case was shipped. The case contained the new Kukri knife along with the first ever Zeus skin. Apart from cosmetics, the taser received a big buff, allowing it to be reused after a 30-seconds recharge period.

Three days before the first CS2 Major, it's viewer pass and Pick'EM were shipped, however the highly anticipated stickers were delayed. The Pick'Em came with a significant visual and functional overhaul allowing two 3-0 and 0-3 picks in the first two stages but the picks had to be precise. If a 3-1 team were to advance 3-0, it no longer counted as a point.

Following the PGL Copenhagen 2024 Major Opening Stage's conclusion, the stickers were added which followed the same borderless design concept from the Stockholm, Antwerp and Paris Majors.

Fast-forward to today, we're here at the 1-year mark. Happy birthday Counter-Strike 2.