CS2 starts Season Five with Cache in and Overpass out

Valve pushed a Counter-Strike 2 update on July 8 that starts Premier Season Five, adds Cache to the Active Duty Map Pool, and removes Overpass. The patch also reworks C4 explosion damage, adds new Armory collections, and brings more map scripting and workshop tools into the mix.

The map pool keeps moving, and this season follows the Premier Season Four reset that shuffled Active Duty earlier in the year. This time, Cache gets its shot while Overpass sits out.

The biggest gameplay change is the new blast-damage model for C4. Valve also trimmed scoreboard overhead, fixed a Buy Menu pickup bug, and kept pushing map scripting and Source 2 support forward.

Patch Notes

[ PREMIER ]

• Premier Season Five has begun

• Added Cache to the Active Duty Map Pool

• Removed Overpass from the Active Duty Map Pool

[ GAMEPLAY ]

• Re-designed effective range and extent of C4 explosion damage on all official defusal-mode maps.

  • Damage is now applied according to precomputed simulation values, baked into the compiled map.

  • Explosion shockwave damage now rapidly expands from the center of the explosion instead of being applied instantly.

• Fixed case where picking up dropped weapons through the Buy Menu would fail to complete.

[ ARMORY ]

• Added two new weapon collections based on the recent Call to Arms community announcement: Spy Tech + Arabesque

• Added two new sticker collections based on the recent Call to Arms community announcement: Fruits & Vegetables + Auto Racing

• Train 2025 and Sport & Field weapon collections are no longer available in the Armory

• Sugarface 2 and Elemental Craft sticker collections are no longer available in the Armory

[ WORKSHOP ]

• Updated “Custom Paint Job Extended”

  • Added option to include a dedicated overlay mask texture

  • Added option to set unique overlay UV randomization separate from albedo UV randomization

[ MISC ]

• Reduced the performance cost of showing the scoreboard.

• Fixed a case where material blending effects would disappear when you got too close (e.g. the dirt on the barrels in Inferno Banana).

• Increased sticker rotation precision to allow half-degree increments on application screen.

[ MAP SCRIPTING ]

• Added Instance.QueueAfterThinks

• Added Instance.OnWeaponDrop

• Added CSWeaponBase.GetOriginalOwner

• Fixed a crash when the name passed to Instance.RegisterCheatCommand collided with an existing command.

• Added file name and line number to errors caught during the CompileModule step of script loading.

• Removed support for deprecated vts assets.

[ ENGINE ]

• Updated engine code to the latest version of Source 2

[ MAPS ]

• Removed community maps: Warden, Stronghold, Alpine, and Sanctum from all game modes

• Added community maps Boulder, Fachwerk, and Shelter to Competitive, Casual, and Deathmatch modes

• Added community maps Debris and El Dorado to Wingman mode

Cache

• Various clipping adjustments

Dust II

• Fixed pixel gap Outside Tunnel

• Clipping adjustment Outside Tunnel

Inferno

• Clipping fix to prevent pixel boost at Top of Mid

Tell us what you think about Cache returning and Overpass stepping out, and share your thoughts in the comments. You can also follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram.

Source: Steam

Counter-Strike 2

Developed by Valve

For over two decades, Counter-Strike has offered an elite competitive experience, one shaped by millions of players from across the globe. And now the next chapter in the CS story is about to begin. This is Counter-Strike 2.

A free upgrade to CS:GO, Counter-Strike 2 marks the largest technical leap in Counter-Strike’s history. Built on the Source 2 engine, Counter-Strike 2 is modernized with realistic physically-based rendering, state of the art networking, and upgraded Community Workshop tools.

• Genre: Shooter, Tactical
• Platforms: Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows)
• Modes: Single player, Multiplayer
• Release: 2023-09-27
• Publisher: Valve
• Age Rating: PEGI 18 / GRAC 19+ / USK 18 / CERO Z / ESRB M / CLASS_IND 18 / ACB R 18+
• IGDB Rating: 67.5/100

Steam Official Site