Knife Trade-Ups and Retakes Return in Huge CS2 Update

Major Trade Up Changes

The Update dials up the Trade Up Contract to include those hard to get Covert-quality items you can only dream of - and gives players a whole new way to get their hands on top-shelf cosmetics:

• Get your hands on StatTrak Coverts by doing a Trade: Trade five items and you might just get your hands on a top-of-the-line StatTrak Knife from a collection you've been eyeing, with StatTrak gloves not being available only for knives, with the conditions you trade up to increasing the chances of that condition.

• Trading for regular Coverts too: Trade five and you'll get a grab bag containing either a normal knife or a normal pair of gloves in a non Statrak variant, with the conditions you trade up to increasing the chances of that condition..

With this change, serious collectors and anyone who's managed to hold red coverts will now have a fair crack at getting the most sought after items in CS2, whilst earning a hefty profit in the process.

While on the face of it this seems like a dream come true for players who were sick of spending their cash on cases, the real news is that this update has really sent shockwaves through the CS2 skin market, having already knocked off a staggering $1.75 billion - or about £1.3 billion from its value within hours of going live.

RUSSIAN STREAMER SHADOWKEK HAS ALREADY CRAFTED A KNIFE

Retakes Mode Returns

The returning Retakes mode drops players into 4v3 post-plant scenarios, where teams must use limited resources and weapons to either defuse or defend the bomb.

Technical Tweaks

Along with the new features, Valve has implemented several smaller fixes and enhancements:

• Inferno: Improved visibility at the top of Quad and beneath the Balcony.
• Golden, Palacio, and Rooftop: Updated to the latest community versions from the Steam Workshop.
• Molotov and Smoke interactions: Adjusted for more consistent behavior when multiple smokes are active.
• Performance and UI: General optimizations, reduced blur on item icons, and improved stability in menus and inspection screens.

Popular Community Reactions

Despite excitement around the return of Retakes, the update’s impact on the skin market has dominated community discussion.

“Counter-Strike rugged its entire community,” said former Head of YouTube Gaming Ryan ‘Fwiz’ Wyatt, referring to the sharp market drop.

Others, however, believe the change was necessary to address inflated prices and market manipulation.

Popular CS2 content creator Anomaly has also had his say on the matter with his latest video which can be seen below!