When does CS2 usually update?

We all hate waiting for the latest CS2 update. Valve are typically stealthy about updates to their premier first-person shooter, so it can be hard to predict when a new Counter-Strike 2 patch will drop. “When does CS2 usually update?” I hear you ask. The good news is that while Valve rarely announces updates ahead of time, there’s a pattern that means we generally have an idea about when CS2 updates are released.

New CS2 updates usually launch on two specific days

In recent years, Valve usually releases CS2 updates on two specific days: Tuesday and Thursday. This means updates are never pushed out at the start of the week, nor are they sending something out to players on a Friday. If something went catastrophically wrong with a weekend update, CS2 devs would likely spend the weekend fixing it, and nobody wants that. This means that the answer to “When does CS2 usually update?” is Tuesday or Thursday, but we can go deeper.

Valve’s main office is based in Bellevue, Washington, which uses PDT for the majority of the year. It’s no surprise, then, that most CS2 updates launch between 5PM and 7PM PDT, as the work day comes to a close. There are a few exceptions to the “Tuesday or Thursday, 5PM to 7PM PDT” rule, but most large new CS2 updates definitely fall into this bracket. If you’re someone who likes to stay up and wait for the latest patch to release, this is when you’ll have the best luck.

Large CS2 updates have become less frequent

In the months following Counter-Strike 2’s release, players could generally expect one major update per month. If it hadn’t happened near the end of the month, you could watch out on Tuesdays and Thursdays for what felt like a guaranteed update.

However, in more recent months (generally 2025 onwards), large CS2 updates have become less frequent and, therefore, harder to predict. Predicting when CS2 will be updated next will only become more challenging in the future, especially if Valve maintains their current pace.