CS2 Update: Grenade Damage Adjusted and Sounds Improved

Valve has released a small update for Counter-Strike 2 dated January 30, 2026. The patch affects grenade mechanics, audio, technical client fixes, and one map from the Community Workshop. Information about the changes was published on the game’s official blog.

GAMEPLAY

The main change is related to high-explosive grenades. Damage from HE grenades that explode in the air close to the ground will no longer be calculated as if the explosion occurred on the surface. This change should reduce controversial situations where a player received damage “as from a ground explosion” even though the grenade detonated in mid-air.

SOUND

Valve made various changes to knife sounds. A detailed list of audio changes was not disclosed, but the update specifically affects the knife sound group.

MISC

The patch also includes several technical changes:

• performance optimization for exploding chickens;

• fixed a bug in map scripts where Entity.SetOwner did not accept the value undefined;

• added a method for community maps that allows saving modified user settings: when using host_writeconfig_with_prompt, players will be prompted to allow saving, and if they agree, some parameters (radar, viewmodel, safezones, etc.) will be saved after leaving the map;

• community maps are now restricted to a smaller list of allowed console commands.

MAPS

Stronghold - updated to the latest version from the Community Workshop.

Molotov Bounce Fixed and Knife Sounds Updated in CS2

Previously, Valve also added five new community maps to CS2 and made changes to Anubis, including adjustments to mid and repositioning objects on bombsite A. The January 30 update continues a series of small patches aimed at fixing mechanics and improving client stability.