View source for News/CS2 Update Adds New Features

{{News
|seo_title=CS2 Update Adds New Features
|seo_keywords=CS2
|image=Cs2updateapril25.png
|tags=Counter Strike
|date=2025-10-23T13:02:53.000Z
|sources={{NewsSource
|source=Hltv
|url=https://www.hltv.org/news/43004/knife-trade-ups-and-return-of-retakes-headline-cs2-update
|article=News/CS2 Update Adds New Features
}}
|author=Andura
|category=More
|game=Counter Strike
|content=Valve has released a major update for Counter-Strike 2, reintroducing the official Retakes mode and expanding the Trade Up Contract system — a change that has dramatically affected the game’s in-game economy.

Published on October 22, 2025, the update brings back Retakes, a fan-favorite mode that drops players into 4v3 post-plant scenarios. Teams must either defend or defuse the bomb with limited weapons and equipment, creating fast-paced, tactical rounds designed for competitive play.

Alongside the mode’s return, Valve introduced several improvements to Inferno, one of the game’s most iconic maps. The adjustments focus on improving visibility, specifically at the top of Quad and underneath the Balcony, to make engagements clearer and fairer.

The update’s biggest talking point, however, is the expanded Trade Up Contract. Players can now combine five Covert-grade items to receive a guaranteed knife or pair of gloves — two of the rarest item categories in Counter-Strike. This change has caused massive disruption to the CS2 skin market, wiping out more than $1.75 billion (around £1.3 billion) in value as rare items became easier to obtain.

[[Companies/Valve|Valve]] also rolled out several performance tweaks, including updates to “Molotov and Smoke interaction logic when multiple smokes are active on the map,” further refining gameplay consistency.

While players welcomed the return of Retakes servers, the reaction to the economic overhaul has been divided. Former Head of YouTube Gaming Ryan “Fwiz” Wyatt criticized the move, saying:

“Counter-Strike rugged its entire community. They just rinsed everyone in the market who had anything of any value.”

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}}