Counter-Strike 2 Update Details Faster Retakes and New Map Tools

The Retakes changes include an instant defuse under specific conditions and shorter round delays, while map scripting gains entity-spawning and bot-control hooks.

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A tactical operator interacts with a holographic interface beside a bomb device in a sunlit Counter-Strike 2-style map.

Counter-Strike 2’s Retakes changes add an instant finish for bomb defuses when enough round time remains and no active utility can prevent the defuse. The mode also gets shorter freeze time and round-restart delays.

Other gameplay changes add a small interaction with pet chickens: pinging one during freeze time will request a trick. Customized chicken names will stay hidden when the customized item text option is set to hidden.

For map creators, the update adds an Entities export with a spawn function and new hooks for bot control. Several entity-related methods move or receive new names, while deprecated methods remain available in their original locations. The Steam update notes detail the full changes. The scripting work follows October’s hostage event and resource-loading additions, with this batch adding entity operations and bot control.

Counter-Strike 2 Update Patch Notes

[ GAMEPLAY ]

Bomb defusal in Retakes mode will now instantly finish when there is sufficient time remaining in the round and no active utility remains to prevent the defuse.
Reduced freeze time and round restart delay in Retakes mode.
Pinging pet chickens during freeze time will request a trick from them.
Pet chicken names are no longer displayed when customized item text game option is set to hidden.

[ MAP SCRIPTING ]

Instance.Precache now accepts entities to precache
Added new top level export Entities
Added Entities.Spawn
Added Instance.OnBotControl
Added CSPlayerController.IsControllingBot
Added CSPlayerController.GetControlledBotPawn
Added CSPlayerPawn.Reset
Moved Instance.ConnectOutput to Entities and changed it to accept a config object
Moved Instance.DisconnectOutput to Entities
Renamed Instance.EntFireAtName to Entities.FireInput
Renamed Instance.FindEntitiesByName to Entities.FindByName
Renamed Instance.FindEntitiesByClass to Entities.FindByClass
Renamed Instance.EntFireAtTarget to Entity.FireInput
Moved and renamed methods are still available in their original location, deprecated
Deprecated Instance.FindEntityByName and FindEntityByClass
Calling a method on an invalid (removed) Entity now reports that the Entity is invalid
ConnectOutput now logs a warning when the target has no output with that name

How would you use the new bot-control hooks in a custom map? Follow along for more on Counter-Strike 2’s Retakes changes and creator tools on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.

Counter-Strike 2 is a free-to-play multiplayer tactical first-person shooter developed and published by Valve. Released in September 2023, it is the fifth main entry in the Counter-Strike series and serves as a direct replacement for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Steam. Two teams, Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists, compete in objective-based rounds across modes such as bomb defusal and hostage rescue. Built on the Source 2 engine, the game introduced volumetric smoke physics, revised weapon handling, and a new sub-tick server architecture. It inherited all cosmetic items from its predecessor and features both a map-specific Competitive mode and a numerically ranked Premier mode.