Counter-Strike is finally getting a feature it should have had years ago

Counter Strike 2 key art
(Image credit: Valve)

Counter-Strike 2 will finally offer players the chance to refund their weapons if they buy them in error.

Last night, Valve detailed a substantial update to the game ahead of its release date later this summer. As well as dedicated weapon loadouts, more accurate interaction with destructible elements of the map, and molotov cocktails cook any chickens unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast, the tweet below confirms weapon refunds.

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Right now, CS:GO has a strict no refunds policy. If you buy an item in error, you're either stuck with it, or forced to buy a different weapon on top of the one you've already got - far from an ideal strategy in an economy-driven shooter.

That's the opposite of what Valorant offers. Arguably Counter-Strike's only real competition in the tactical shooter space, Riot's FPS has offered weapon refunds since launch. Valorant's entire buy menu is a lot more forgiving than Valve's, part of a suite of changes that aimed to set the FPS apart from its biggest inspiration. That's made swapping between the two games an interesting experience, particularly on the occasions where two Counter-Strike players each buy a gun for a single teammate.

The response to the change has been almost universally positive, with the replies celebrating an end to wasted in-game cash. The only real negative responses stem from fans uncertain about Valorant's influence on Counter-Strike, but given that the newer game was born almost directly out of Valve's shooter, I think that's likely to not be a major concern for most players.

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Ali Jones
News Editor

I'm GamesRadar's news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.