update · August 14, 2025
Counter-Strike 2 Update Adds Nighttime Maps and Speeds Up Knife Inspects
Counter-Strike 2 introduces nighttime variants for Ancient and Shoots, expands material blending options, refines weapon animations, and adjusts console restrictions.
Valve deployed an update for Counter-Strike 2 on August 14, 2025, delivering nighttime map variants, animation polishes across numerous weapons, and new item additions.
New Maps and Items
Nighttime versions of Ancient and Shoots are playable. Ancient materials use modern CS2 shaders alongside new blending options for wetness and moss, accompanied by an "ancient_zoo.vmap" asset file for mapmakers. The Deluge Music Kit Box is available for purchase in standard and StatTrak versions, and the M4A1-S | Solitude joins The Armory as a limited-time item.
Weapon Animations and Handling
Deploy and quick-inspect animations were improved for all knives, the AK-47, Galil AR, AUG, and PP-Bizon. Standard deploy animations were updated for the AWP, M4A4, and M4A1-S, alongside legacy SSG 08 models. Deploy inspect delay was removed for most weapons. The Sawed-Off shotgun deploy animation was modified alongside a fix for shell penetration during reload. The XM1014 no longer blocks the crosshair while reloading, and an issue allowing certain weapons to fire too quickly after re-deploying was resolved.
Performance and Settings
Rendering performance received improvements across most maps. Players can modify rendering resolution and aspect ratio directly in fullscreen windowed mode. However, the `fps_max` command can no longer be altered while connected to an active server.
Why this patch matters
The patch streamlines animation timings and optimizes rendering while introducing fresh aesthetic options and nighttime maps.