CS2 Update: Max Rounds Per Match, Return Of Italy And Removal Of 4-Stack Queues

On the night of August 15-16, Valve released an update for the beta version of Counter-Strike 2. Along with the 4 GB patch, the users received a new portion of rumors around the game's release version. Most of such speculations are related to the matchmaking mode: this is probably why it was removed for a while, with only "Normal" and "Fight to the Death" modes left. Review of the new map, changes to Smoke Grenades and another "feature" from VALORANT - in the material of Telecomasia.net.

The iconic hostage rescue map from the days of CS 1.6 will be the only map available to players until the next major update. Italy is the ninth map to be added in the months following CS2's announcement, but this is the first time hostage rescue has appeared in the game. If we compare the location and the level of its details with the official competitive maps, then it would be quite appropriate to compare it with Overpass or Nuke, where the visuals have become noticeably more rich. But you won't be able to play the legendary map in the matchmaking: partly because of this, Valve temporarily removed the mode from the beta version of CS2, keeping only "Fight to the Death" and "Normal", where this map fits perfectly.

Attentive players already managed to find the flaws on this map on the first day after the release. The video below shows a spot where you can see a big part of the map from the roof of a building.

Blogger Gabe Follower is not the only game development insider of his kind. Foreign experts found many hints in the update files about the reworking of Premier mode in CS2. Recall that this mode became free in CS:GO some time after its release, and its difference from matchmaking is only the process of selecting maps and the lack of displaying the damage received after death.

In CS2, Valve is likely planning to ban four-person queues, as indicated by the discovery of a user with the nickname Thour_CS:

Furthermore, early rumors of a redesigned ranking system fit seamlessly with the new data, since the new ranking is crucial to team selection. With these Premier mode features, Valve is clearly targeting FACEIT, looking to "take out" the monopoly platformer with the release of the new part.

The updated Smoke Grenade structure in the game is no longer completely different from the one in its predecessor, but a mixture of the new and the old. They took the approximate dispersion geometry from the CS:GO smoke grenade, as well as the view obstruction area. It has become more rounded and not too "spread out". But the look and density of smoke remained the same as it was on the first beta version: the new "liquid" smoke became a real trademark of the new part.

The community never tires of discussing the "chicken or the egg" dilemma: who was the first of FPS-shooters to introduce MR12? Some people remember the early CS 1.6 tournaments, where the first half of the map had 12 rounds instead of 15. Defenders of Riot Games' brainchild insist that their favorite game inspired a "second life" into this format and made it more popular than it was 15 years ago.

Be that as it may, users were stunned by the rumors of the MR12 tests in CS2. Most, of course, think that it's a simple copy from a competitor and don't accept this innovation. The developers will remove the short matchmaking, because MR12 is the happy medium between MR15 and MR8. During the match itself, timeouts will be changed: they want to introduce four 30-second pauses instead of one minute.

Valve announced the development of Counter-Strike 2 in the spring of 2023. According to the first plans published by the developers, the game is at the pre-release stage and will be ready to be released during the summer of 2023.