Counter-Strike 2

2020 RMR Sticker Capsules​

Over the past year, the top CS:GO teams in the world competed in regional ranking events for invitations to a Major Championship. Ultimately there would be no Major in 2020, but it is important that fans have an opportunity to celebrate and recognize the hard work of the best teams of 2020. So we’re excited to announce 2020 CS:GO RMR Capsules.

These capsules represent the teams that would have received invitations to the 2020 Fall Major, broken down by their invitation status (Legend, Challenger, Contender). You can find the final RMR scores and standings here.

For these stickers, 50% of the proceeds directly support the teams.

2021 RMR Events​

We will continue to hold regional RMR events to identify the 24 teams to invite to the 2021 PGL Stockholm Major. In the link below you can find all the details and updates to the 2021 RMR event system, but here are some highlights:

• RMR points are reset for 2021, however the 2020 RMR Legends will start with 600, Challengers with 300, and contenders with 100 points.

• Teams can now specify a substitute player (any player who is not registered to participate or substitute for another team) that is separate from their coach.

• A team incurs a penalty when they substitute out a player in an event, but there is no penalty when that player is brought back in.

• During online matches only players are allowed in the room and on the server. Neither coaches nor any other team staff will be allowed in the room, on the server, or to otherwise communicate with the team during an online match.

The full details of the 2021 RMR system can be found here.

Coaching Integrity​

In September of 2020 we were alerted to the fact that many professional coaches were exploiting a coaching-feature bug to gain an unfair advantage during matches. You can read about our initial response here.

Since then, ESIC has published the findings of their investigation and the resulting sanctions. You can read about them here.

As our follow up, we have decided that coaches that exploited the camera bug will be ineligible to participate in some number of future Valve-sponsored events–that number to be determined by the extent of the abuse.

The following table translates ESIC demerits into Major ineligibility:

ESIC Demerits	Number of Majors to Miss
3	2
4	3
5	5
6+	All

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[TD]1[/TD]

In addition to consequences for individuals, we have also thought about how commonly coaches exploited the bug, for how long it went unreported, as well as how common coach stream-sniping accusations have been.

To avoid the diminished integrity of coaching from casting a shadow on the integrity of Valve-sponsored events, we’ll be changing the restrictions on support staff in the following way:

During online matches only players are allowed in the room and on the server. Neither coaches nor any other team staff will be allowed in the room, on the server, or to otherwise communicate with the team during an online match.

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CS:GO’s next Major Championship will be hosted by PGL, and will take place in Stockholm at the Ericsson Globe, October 23rd-November 7th, provided it is safe to hold live competitive events by that time.

Join us in Sweden, or watch all of the matches online with the CS:GO Major’s first 4K 60fps stream!



Twenty-four teams will battle for their share of a $2,000,000 prize pool. Those teams will be identified through a series of Regional Major Ranking (RMR) events throughout the year, initially taking place online and culminating in at least one offline RMR per region prior to the Major. We’ll provide more detail about 2021 RMR events soon.

It has been a long stretch since CS:GO last crowned a Major Champion. Who will rise to the top and claim the title?

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Donating weapons to a teammate in need? Today’s update includes some quality of life upgrades.

2021 Service Medal​

When you reach Global General (Rank 40), you’ll have the option to reset your Profile Rank and earn (or upgrade) a Service Medal. After January 1, 2021 you’ll be able to receive the new 2021 Service Medal, an inspectable display item that will be visible wherever your avatar is shown.

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Majors


When we announced the Rio Major, we were excited to bring a CS:GO Major to one of Counter-Strike’s most passionate fan bases. At the time, we couldn’t have imagined the global challenges that have limited live events throughout 2020.

We’re not going to ask players and fans to risk their health in order to attend a Major while the pandemic still poses a threat to travelers. Therefore, we have made the painful decision to cancel the November Major.

So, what’s the plan? First, we’re going to hold off on scheduling Majors until, at a minimum, Regional Major Ranking (RMR) LAN events are safe to hold around the world. Until then, we expect to continue to hold online RMR events to keep track of the best teams in each region.

Coaching


Recently we’ve been made aware that several coaches of professional CS:GO teams exploited a bug in the game in order to gain an advantage over their opponents. It is unfortunate and frustrating that we did not respond to this bug sooner. But bugs are the reality of software—and until they are resolved, we need to be able to trust players and coaches.

We won’t spend much time here reiterating our stance on the importance of integrity in CS:GO matches. At a minimum, we expect that players and coaches will play by the rules, and immediately pause the match and alert tournament admins if they know of an issue that may give them (or an opponent) an unfair advantage.

Any teams that were disqualified for exploiting this bug during an RMR event will have their RMR points reset.

As for taking action against individual coaches, we’re going to wait until we get a complete picture of the extent of the bug abuse and the punishments handed down by third parties. Regardless of those penalties, mid-match coaching will always be a tempting opportunity for some teams to violate the integrity of the match. So we may also consider limitations to coaching.

We’re looking forward to getting LAN events started again, and hope that we can all find a safe way to do it soon.

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Today’s update includes some networking improvements, updates to Swamp, Mutiny, and Anubis, and an all new weapon case!

The Fracture Collection


Introducing the Fracture Collection, featuring designs from over 17 different community artists, and including the Shattered Web Knives as rare special items!



































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Today we’re introducing two community maps: Swamp and Mutiny. Check them out in Casual or Deathmatch to get your feet wet, and then jump into a Scrimmage for a full match!

There’s more in today’s update, check out the release notes [URL='https://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php/2020/07/30991/']here.
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Today we’re shipping changes to CS:GO that are part of our continuing fight against cheating.

CS:GO now significantly restricts the types of programs and files that can interact with the game.

By default, players will launch CS:GO in Trusted mode, which will block third-party files from interacting with the game.

If you would like to play while using third party software that interacts with CS:GO, launch with the -untrusted launch option. Note that in this case your Trust score may be negatively affected.

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Today we’re shipping an optional beta branch of CS:GO with changes that are part of our continuing fight against cheating. To help out, you can opt in to the beta by following the instructions here.

CS:GO now significantly restricts the types of programs and files that can interact with the game.

In the unlikely event that you launch the game with incompatible files, you will receive a warning indicating the incompatible file and may be blocked from joining VAC-enabled servers. To resolve the issue, you can disable the ‘Trusted Launch’ in your game settings, however this may temporarily impact your trust score.

For developers of third-party programs that interact directly with the CS:GO executable process, we have added requirements that will impact your software. Moving forward, all DLLs that interact with CS:GO will need to be digitally signed with an Authenticode signature. Additionally, we will block signed DLLs if their functionality interferes with the game in any way.

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A new music kit featuring Amon Tobin, “All for Dust,” is now available! From the producer who brought you the Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory OST, Amon Tobin lends his unique aesthetic to CS:GO… this time through tube amplifiers.

Dust off this new kit, good luck and have fun!

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Since CS:GO’s release in 2012, some of the most common feedback we’ve received has been about the challenge of spotting characters in the world. Because every map in the game features significant variety of lighting and detail, even characters designed to read well in a map might get lost when viewed from a particular angle in a particular location.

We’ll continue to address feedback about specific problem spots by making adjustments to maps, but today we’re also shipping several new improvements to the way characters are rendered.



Boosting Player Contrast


To improve character read across all maps and locations, we’ve added a new graphics setting called ‘Boost Player Contrast’ which is enabled by default. It’s a special post process filter that applies to stationary characters, creating local contrast so that characters stand out from the background.

This is now enabled by default and you can find the new setting in Video->Advanced Video->‘Boost Player Contrast’.

Here’s what it does:
— Increases the character’s contrast against the background at far distances.
— Strengthens edge pixels for characters at far distances.
— Creates a small blur around a character to reduce background noise.
— Creates a small contrasting halo around a character when there is no color difference between the character and the environment.

In addition to the changes above, we modified the textures of some character models (and custom-authored the coarse mipmap levels in some cases), and adjusted fog.

In CS:GO, fog is applied separately to characters and the rest of the world. To help characters stand out from the background at longer distances, we’ve decreased the fogging on characters across all maps (and slightly increased the world fog in Dust 2).

Map changes


In addition to the ‘Boost Player Contrast’ setting, we’re continuing to improve visibility by changing specific areas of maps.

A Closer Read


Jump into a server and see how the characters look!

Today’s update should improve character read in most cases, but we know that there’s more to be done. If you identify specific situations where you think the new tools aren’t helping you, please contact us at [email protected] using the subject line “Agent Read”. Include an explanation of what happened and a link to a screenshot.

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Today we’re releasing the Warhammer 40,000 Sticker Capsule, featuring 17 unique stickers from the 40K universe. From the paper Full Buy sticker to the foil Chaos Marine, collect and apply them to your weapons today; the Capsule is now available in-game!

A Change of Scenery

The next time you launch CS:GO you’ll find a new Video Setting which allows you to change your main menu background. Whether you prefer a light or dark feel, Anubis or Phoenix Facility, there’s something for everyone.

Small Details

Lastly, we’ve recently added kill feed icons for blind kills, kills through smoke, and no scope sniper kills. Today we’re adding a new kill feed icon when players die from C4 explosions. Look for these the next time a CT forgets their Defuse Kit!

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Today’s update includes an experimental warmup mode, a way to view (and copy) players’ crosshairs while spectating, a new set of Music Kits, and more!

The Masterminds Music Kits

Introducing the The Masterminds Music Kit Box, featuring music kits from seven composers. Standard and StatTrak music kit boxes are now available for purchase.

Warming Up

Get a few reps in before the match begins with an experimental 1v1 warmup mode! The experimental warmup is currently limited to Wingman matches on Train and Vertigo, and may be added to other maps and Competitive Matchmaking in the future.

Share Your View


Wondering how your teammates see the world? As a spectator you can now view other players’ crosshairs.

By default you will see crosshairs of your friends and party members, but you can change your settings to view everyone (or just your own). See one you like? Click a player on the scoreboard to copy their crosshair.

There’s more in today’s update, view the release notes for details!

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Update 4/17/2020: Regional Major Ranking has been updated, visit this page for up to date information: Regional Major Ranking.

Update 4/8/2020: The invites have been updated to reflect C0ntact’s return to the EU.

The Rio Major will take place in November and, as the only Major of 2020, the prize pool will be $2,000,000.

It will have been more than a year since the last Major. To ensure that the Rio Major features the top teams in the world, we will require that current Legends and Challengers demonstrate that they are still in top form. Due to the difficulty in travel for the foreseeable future, we’re going to do that regionally.

Regional Major Rankings


All teams participating in the November Rio Major will earn their invites through regional rankings, which will be updated based on their performance in upcoming Regional Major Ranking competitions.

Teams competing in an RMR series will receive Major Ranking points based on their placement. We will have more details on the point distribution once we have a final list of the Major Ranking competitions between now and the Rio Major.

The first RMR series will be in May, and we intend to have one more RMR series in the Fall. Additionally, if tournament organizers are interested in modifying their previously planned 2020 events to be RMR competitions, they should reach out to us.

For us to consider an event for Major ranking, it must invite the top RMR teams in the region and hold qualifiers for the remainder. The event can be of any format, any prize pool, any duration, and either online, LAN, or a combination of the two.

November Rio Invitations


24 teams will be invited to the November Rio Major from six different regions based on their Regional Major Ranking.

In total, there are 8 Legend, 8 Challenger, and 8 Contender invitations available.

Each region will be allocated invites to the Major based on that region’s performance in the preceding Major. Based on the results of the 2019 Berlin Major, the invitations for each region are as follows:

November Rio Invitation Distribution
EUR	CIS	NA	SA	AS	OC
Legends	3	2	3*	0	0	0
Challengers (formerly Returning Challengers)	6	1	1	0	0	0
Contenders (formerly New Challengers)	2	2	1	1	1	1
Total Invitations	11	5	5	1	1	1

*Teams currently unable to travel to their native region are invited to defend their invitations in the region where they are currently situated.

The 2020 May RMR Series


The first series of these RMR competitions will be in May and will be hosted by ESL. All teams that would have been invited to the May Rio Major or the May Rio Minors will be invited to compete for position in their region. Current Legends and Challengers will start with some Regional Major Ranking points.

FAQ


Q. How are the Regional Major Rankings calculated?

• The Regional Major Rankings will be points-based, and the value of events closer to the Major will be greater than earlier events. However, we won’t have a detailed breakdown before we’ve finalized the RMR events for the year.

Q. Will there be Minors for the November Rio Major?

• There will be no Minors ahead of the November Rio Major. Regional Major Rankings will be used to determine all 24 teams participating in the November Rio Major. There will not be a separate path for teams to qualify.

Q. What happens to teams who were invited to the May Minors?

• For the first Regional Major Ranking series in May, teams qualified for the May Minors (and/or qualifiers for those Minors) will be invited to participate in their respective region’s competition. For later RMR competitions, participants will be invited based on their regional ranking, with additional slots available to teams determined by qualifiers.

Q. What happens to the Minor prize pool?

• Valve will sponsor the May and Fall Regional Major Ranking series. Each of those events will feature a prize pool of $255,000, divided across each region based on the number of Legends and Challengers invitations available for that region. The minimum prize pool in a region will be $10,000.

Q. What determines what region a team competes in?

• Given the circumstances, teams’ regions are determined by their current location.

Q. What happens if a team changes region?

• Regional Major Rankings only represents a team’s performance relative to other teams in the region. Therefore, any region change by a team will result in a reset of the team’s Major Ranking points.

Q. Can a team change their roster?

• Teams can change up to two members of their roster in the lead up to an event at a cost of 20% of the team’s points, per player. They can adjust their roster prior to the roster lock for each Regional Major Ranking competition.

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[ MISC ]
– Updated Diamond Operation Coin materials.
– Fixed several respawn-related bugs in the Co-op Strike mission.
– Fixed a bug in exploding barrels sometimes awarding multiple points towards mission progress.
– Fixed a UI error showing negative number of missions for Diamond Operation Coin owners.
– Fixed a UI error in workshop maps.
– Updated Mac-10 texture UVs for Inferno 2019 Collection.

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Operation Shattered Web wraps up today. Thanks to all of the CS:GO players who participated–over the span of the operation, they completed over 136 million missions!

The operation may be over, but there’s more to see in today’s update.

New Maps

Today we are adding two community created maps to our official matchmaking pool in Scrimmage and Casual game modes. Check out Anubis and Chlorine, two of the top finalists in Mapcore’s 2019 Exotic Places map contest.

Prisma 2 Collection


Today we’re also introducing the Prisma 2 Collection! Lightly based on Anime/Manga themes, the collection features 17 community created weapon finishes, as well as the chance to receive one of the Horizon knives in Chroma finishes.

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Half-Life: Alyx launches March 23rd, and we’re celebrating the release in CS:GO! Half-Life themed Stickers, Collectible Pins, and Patches are now available for purchase in-game.

Valve Index

If you purchased Valve Index hardware prior to Alyx’s release, you’ll receive a Genuine version of the Alyx Pin from the new collection, as well as an exclusive Half-Life: Alyx Music Kit!

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We’re in the final weeks of Operation Shattered Web, and players have until March 30th to play missions, earn progress, and redeem Operation rewards.

Today the final mission card goes live which means we’ll start issuing Diamond Operation Coins to users who have completed 100 missions. This week’s card, “Time To Take Out The Trash”, includes a second co-op Strike mission tasking players with finding and eliminating Franz Kriegeld. Don’t let him escape!

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Today’s update includes a revamped buy menu, a simple way to customize (and share) your crosshair, and an all new way to personalize your favorite agents!

Introducing Patches

Looking for a way to personalize your agent? Patches featuring a variety of classic designs can now be applied to specific locations on each character model, and you can apply more than one for each agent. You can find patches in the CS:GO Patch Pack, available now.

Choose Your Own Crosshair

Customizing your crosshair has never been easier. Head over to the settings menu, where you’ll find a variety of crosshair settings that can be tuned to your personal taste. You can share your crosshair code with others or import a code to try someone else’s.

Full Buy

Today’s update also includes a visual rework of the buy menu, featuring an interactive preview of your character holding weapons and equipment. Along with some slight rearranging, now you can preview the equipment you can afford with illuminated icons in the buy wheel.

New operation missions – Light Buy

Maximize your earnings. Do more with less. Play new Shattered Web Operation missions beginning Tuesday at 2:00 pm PT.

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Week 14 missions are ready to play! Grab an AK and queue for Cache and Train in Casual, Competitive, Wingman, and Guardian game modes.

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Break out the big guns. Subtlety is not required when using the overpowered weapons in this week’s missions. It is ok to make a little noise, go big, be bold, and have fun!

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