The January 30 Counter-Strike 2 update focused on fixing gameplay inconsistencies, improving performance, and tightening control over community maps. While the patch was relatively small, it addressed issues that directly affect competitive integrity, map creators, and overall game stability.

Below is a clear explanation of only the January 30 changes, followed by the original update note pasted verbatim at the end, exactly as requested.

HE Grenade Damage Fix - More Consistent Explosions

The most important gameplay change in this update affects HE grenades. Previously, grenades that exploded mid-air close to the ground could deal damage as if they had detonated on the ground. This resulted in inconsistent and sometimes unfair damage, especially in tight situations or competitive play.

With this fix, mid-air explosions near the ground are now calculated correctly. Damage output is more predictable, which improves fairness and reduces randomness in grenade usage.

Knife Sound Adjustments

The update also introduced various knife sound adjustments. While this does not change damage or mechanics, sound clarity is crucial in CS2. Knife audio cues are often used for positioning and awareness, so even small tweaks can improve gameplay readability and reduce confusion during close encounters.

Performance Improvements - Exploding Chickens

One of the more unusual but real fixes in this update is performance optimization for exploding chickens. Chickens are physical entities, and explosions involving them could cause unnecessary performance overhead. This optimization improves stability in edge cases, especially on lower-end systems or busy servers.

Bug Fix for Map Scripting

A scripting bug was fixed where Entity.SetOwner did not accept undefined as intended. This is mainly relevant for community map developers, as it improves scripting reliability and prevents unintended behavior in custom maps.

Saving User Settings in Community Maps

Community maps can now save modified user settings such as:

  • radar

  • viewmodel

  • safezones

When the command host_writeconfig_with_prompt is used, the player is asked for permission to save these settings. If accepted, the changes persist after exiting the map. This is a quality-of-life improvement for custom maps that rely on specific visual or UI configurations.

Restricted Console Commands in Community Maps

Valve also restricted community maps to a smaller list of allowed console commands. This change improves security and prevents abuse or unwanted behavior caused by custom maps executing unsafe commands.

Advanced users and developers can disable this filtering using the launch option -disable_workshop_command_filtering, restoring full command access if needed.

Stronghold Map Update

The map Stronghold was updated to the latest version from the Community Workshop. This typically includes visual fixes, improved collision, and general polish, although no gameplay-breaking layout changes were introduced in this update.

Original Counter-Strike 2 Update Notes - January 30

Counter-Strike 2 Update
[ GAMEPLAY ]

Damage from HE grenades that explode mid-air near the ground will no longer be calculated as if they exploded on the ground.

[ SOUND ]

Various knife sound adjustments.

[ MISC ]

Performance optimizations for exploding chickens.
Fixed a map scripting bug where Entity.SetOwner wasn't accepting undefined.
Added a method for community maps to save modified user settings. Running host_writeconfig_with_prompt will prompt the user for permission to save. If accepted, some of the modified settings (radar, viewmodel, safezones, etc) will be kept after the map exits.
Community maps are now restricted to a smaller list of allowed console commands. Use -disable_workshop_command_filtering to disable this filtering.

[ MAPS ]

Stronghold
Updated to the latest version from the Community Workshop (Update Notes)