Valve has released the long-awaited update for Counter-Strike 2, marking the start of Premier Season 2! The game features major changes to the ranked mode, weapon balancing, and the current map pool.
The Blix team will explain all the changes that affected the game at the beginning of 2025.
Contents
Highlights
- Information about changes to Premier Season 2 in CS2
After the update, ESL Katowice 2025 has already passed:
We have an article listing all the important tournaments: CS2 Tournament Calendar 2025: Full Schedule & Must-Watch Events.
All Changes in Premier Season 2 in CS2
In Counter-Strike 2, with the start of the second season of Premier Matchmaking, you must win 10 caliber games to get the new rating. Also, a player’s performance from the first Premier season will affect the new rating.
Every player from the first Premier season has received a medal. You can find the rating, playing time, and separate map statistics by clicking on it. Premier players will receive similar medals at the end of the second season. The second season in CS2 will last until March 22.
The players bragged about their rankings on Reddit:
Changing Weapon Balance in CS2
In the new Counter-Strike 2 update, Valve has changed some of the gameplay by changing the stats of some weapons:
- The price of the M4A4 has dropped to $2,900. For M4A,4, we have a selection of skins: Top 10 Best M4A4 Skins in CS2 – Most Popular Picks in 2025.
- The price of the FAMAS has decreased to $1,950, while its accuracy has increased.
- Reduced accuracy for MP9, MP5-SD, and MP7 from a sitting position.
- The crosshair point on the AUG/SG was changed, making it easier to use when shooting at long range.
Changing the Interface in CS2
The CS2 user interface has changed. The developers added a new dynamic radar scaling option, which allows users to zoom in or out.
This will allow you to include your teammates, bomb, and other elements. In addition, the brightness of C4 in the interface has been increased, and the order of grenades in the observer UI has been changed to match the order of weapon selection.
By the way, there were not only changes in the game but also in regional standards. Read in the article Valve CS2 Regional Standinds Update.
Other Changes in CS2
- Train returns to the competitive pool, replacing Vertigo. Valve has made some changes to the map. The acceleration angle from Long Dog to Bombsite A has been removed.
The Train, however, was not greeted with much heat. It was the most unclaimed location at IEM Katowice 2025—teams chose it three times (in the playoff stage, it appeared only once). At the same time, Nuke became the most popular map.
It must be said that regular users support pro players. The map Train became the most unpopular map in the second season of Premier mode in Counter-Strike 2. Mirage, in turn, turned out to be the map most often chosen by users.
- We have added rollback logic to allow the playback of incomplete demo files copied from the current match or restored after a game server crash.
- Fixed a vulnerability that allowed players to use secondary fire on the R8 revolver and then sell it back.
- Counter-streif summaries are now available in the game server log data.
Conclusion
The community expects the changing of seasons to become a regular occurrence and coincide with the winter and summer parts of the season on the pro scene. But most importantly, all game fans are waiting for the addition of a new Anti-Cheat system, and according to insiders, there are certain prerequisites for it.
We wrote about it in the article: Rumours: Valve Preparing to Release VAC 3.0 for CS2?
