Well, never let it be said that Valve has lost the ability to surprise. One day, perhaps, we might get the sudden shadow drop of Half-Life 3 – I imagine logging onto Steam and it’s just there, waiting – but in the meantime, the abrupt arrival of the best CSGO mode into Counter-Strike 2 is supremely welcome. For the last four months, CS2 has felt a little unbalanced or even unnecessary, an extremely incremental improvement on its predecessor that was also missing some of CSGO’s best features. Now, however, Counter-Strike 2 feels closer to the superlative online shooter that we’ve all been hoping for, as one of the best game types in CS history finally makes its return.
Counter-Strike 2 Arms Race is finally here, courtesy of a huge update to the FPS game that Valve has suddenly dropped out of nowhere. A quickfire, pick-up-and-play alternative to the more central Counter-Strike 2 experience, in Arms Race, there are no buy menus and no money. Players spawn with different weapons. When you score two kills with your weapon, you get a replacement, and need to score two kills with that weapon, and so on. Eventually, you get the golden knife, and the first person to get a kill with that wins the whole game. This is why it’s called ‘race’ – you need to kill your way through the random arsenal as fast as possible to get the knife, then rapidly poke someone to death to win the game.
One of the most enjoyable and popular modes in CSGO, Arms Race wasn’t available in Counter-Strike 2 when it launched back in September 2023. Valve’s huge update from Tuesday February 6 however finally brings it to CS2, as well as some other tweaks. Sticker placement is no longer restricted to a few presets, meaning you can apply stickers to your weapons anywhere you want. Likewise, you can now add up to five stickers. There is also the Kilowatt Case, the first weapon case created and launched specifically for Counter-Strike 2.
With all of these additions, make sure you have the latest and greatest Counter-Strike 2 crosshairs. Alternatively, check our Counter-Strike 2 best binds guide to help you play like a pro.
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