CS2 Update Review from October 1, 2025: New Maps, Charms, Stickers and… That’s It?!
Contrary to all expectations, the update following CS2’s birthday, released on October 1, 2025, did not become a gameplay revolution or a true “gift” from VALVE. Yes, it brought several interesting innovations, but the core of the update consisted of cosmetics in The Armory Pass. This is not a massive patch with new weapons, modes, or fundamental balance changes, but it is what it is. Let’s take a closer look at what VALVE came up with.
New Community Maps
One of the key focuses of the update was expanding the pool of maps from the Steam Workshop. VALVE added four new maps that are now available in various game modes. They passed selection and were integrated into matchmaking, giving players the opportunity to diversify their routine (now, apparently, we’re waiting for weekly missions like “win 15 rounds on Golden/Palacio”).
- Golden and Palacio: These two maps are now available in Competitive, Casual, and Deathmatch modes. Golden is a map with industrial design inspired by gold mining shafts. It includes open spaces and narrow corridors. Players are already noting that the map is visually on par with official VALVE maps and has potential for permanent inclusion in the pool, although its structure requires some refinement. Palacio, in turn, is an architecturally rich location with palace elements, including courtyards and high platforms. It is inspired by Pena Palace, located in Portugal.
- Rooftop and Transit: These maps are exclusively for Wingman – the 2v2 mode where the focus is on quick rounds and coordination with your partner. Rooftop is a location on the roof of a corporate campus with a garden, developed by Slimek and his team. It offers vertical gameplay with stairs, cover, and original positions with unusual angles. Transit, created by the johansson and Rikuda team, is a street scene in Vietnam with a railway line where a train passes twice per round. The map has already been found to contain a huge number of easter eggs with real phone numbers, internet memes, and witty references.
At the same time, developers removed old maps – Jura, Grail, Dogtown, and Brewery from all modes. This is standard rotation to maintain balance and relevance, although fans of these locations may be disappointed.
Cosmetics in the Armory: Charms, Stickers and...
First of all, it’s worth noting that VALVE kept their promise and removed the Gallery Case, The Graphic Design Collection, and Character Craft stickers from the Arsenal. Therefore, in the near future, all that remains is to lock in profits on these items. Also, as we expected, the Austin Major merchandise was removed.
Now about the new additions:
- New Charms: Two collections appeared – Missing Link Community Charms (23 charms from the community) and Dr. Boom Charms (22 charms). Dr. Boom represents cute miniature fragmentation grenades. We’ve seen many similar examples in the Workshop, and VALVE once again decided to “find inspiration” right there. Missing Link already includes community work added after VALVE’s official call to use “sausage” charm textures and upload them to the Workshop.
Among the new charms, there are indeed interesting and original works that we’ll make a separate review of soon. This time, a couple of interesting mechanics were added that will truly surprise you!
- New Stickers: 2025 Community Stickers (29 stickers from the community) and Sugarface 2 Stickers (9 stickers in the Sugarface theme) were added. We’re sure that in the near future, we’ll see a huge wave of various original sticker crafts.
The community capsule really has something to look at, and we will definitely examine them under a microscope for various easter eggs. But who came up with the idea to revive the ancient Sugarface collection is a huge question. It feels like it didn’t evoke positive emotions from the community and was met quite indifferently.
And that’s it? Surprisingly – yes. They took away an entire case and skin collection from us without adding anything in return. Honestly, this is an extremely questionable decision, because stickers and charms are unlikely to convince players to purchase the pass again and grind stars in The Armory Pass. Well, maybe this is just a “teaser” before something truly massive (yes, yes, we’re hinting at Cache 2025 again).
Gameplay Changes
Gameplay hasn’t undergone radical changes, but several changes were made that affect the gaming process.
- Death Counter and Bomb: Now deaths from C4 explosions will be counted in statistics. Of course, this won’t change the game in any way, but it will significantly affect player statistics, and we don’t rule out a situation where HLTV won’t adhere to this innovation for calculating statistics at the pro level.
- Zeus-x27 in Deathmatch: The killstreak bonus with Zeus-x27 in this mode is limited.
- Sniper Scopes: Fixed incorrect pixel offset for scopes with thickness greater than one pixel for sniper rifles. Added spread display in sniper scopes – now snipers can see how “blurred” their scope is due to movement or other factors, which should help make decisions – shoot or wait. If you want to return everything as it was, use the new console command “cl_sniper_show_inaccuracy 0”.
Improvements for Spectator Mode
- Camera: On some maps, new camera transitions are now supported, following the shortest path to the next player. This should make viewing smoother, without sudden jumps, and enhances immersion.
- Loadout: The observed player’s inventory now automatically closes at the end of the match, not interfering with viewing. Float and pattern of knives and gloves are also displayed – previously this function was only available for regular weapons.
New transitions in spectator mode were received negatively, but the community almost always reacts quite sharply to minor changes. “Don’t touch what works” is the main motto of our community.
Miscellaneous
- Minor skin adjustments for MAC-10 and R8 Revolver.
- Fixed a crash related to missing bullet hit effects.
- In Workshop Tools – Hammer, deformers were added (lattice deformer and simple bend deformer).
- Re-enabled example content in train_zoo using lattice and bend deformers.
For regular players, these changes are invisible, but for the creator community, they mean a new level of freedom in implementing their own ideas.
Author: Alex
Alex is an author and esports observer with more than seven years of experience. He specializes in analyzing new releases in the world of computer games, gaming services, and in-game economies. Alex shares practical experience and an expert perspective on the development of gaming, helping readers understand complex mechanics and stay up to date with the latest news.
