Counter-Strike 2 Premier Season 4: Everything you need to know about the update

Premier Season 4 has just been released in Counter-Strike 2, and there are quite a few changes that daily players should know about before jumping back into Valve’s first-person shooter.

Two weapons have received notable buffs, while updates to the armoury provide new cosmetic incentives. We’re going to go over the most important additions in Premier Season 4, and we’ll wrap it up with a rundown on how we expect the update to affect the esports scene.

Anubis has been added to the active duty map pool, while Train has been removed. There are also a few changes to Anubis in the latest official patch notes, which we’ve listed below straight from the source.

Four community maps have been removed from every mode, including:

On the flip side, a few community maps have been added for the Deathmatch, Casual, and Competitive modes:

As a final note, a couple of community maps were added for Wingman mode, which include:

The MP5-SD and MP7 have both received noteworthy buffs in the latest CS2 update. Their prices have been reduced by $100, while their damage has been slightly increased to provide stronger offensive capabilities. The damage fall-off of both guns has also been reduced. Though it didn’t receive a buff, the PP-Bizon has also seen a $100 price reduction.

Though a minor change, the material fidelity has been increased on a wide range of weapons in CS2, including the following:

The latest patch updated how jumping and landing work in-game. Both actions won’t affect stamina anymore, and landing time will now be calculated using subtick precision.

In Premier Season 4, adjustments have been made to the underlying map competitive ranks for matchmaking. Valve has also reset the existing skill groups for each map, meaning that players will need to earn their rank in the latest update by winning competitive matches.

A limited edition item has been introduced to the armoury in the January update: the AK47 Aphrodite. Additionally, two new weapon collections have been added to the weekly care package list, which include Achroma and Harlequin.

However, four collections are now gone from the weekly care package list, including the Dust 2, Safehouse, 2018 Inferno Collection, and 2018 Nuke Collection.

The updates to the care package list and armoury provide new surprises for weekly players, but the real meat of Premier Season 4 is the weapon changes and the updated map pool. The MP5-SD and MP7 both received small damage buffs, which could make close-quarters combat more common since it’ll encourage players to use SMGs often, especially since these guns also received a price reduction.

Looking at the updated map pool, Anubis will provide a fast-paced experience for competitive play that forces players to make the most of their team utility. New changes to Anubis may also affect how competitive teams form strategies as we move into the beginning of the 2026 esports season.

Though the introduction of Premier Season 4 may not seem massive on the surface, updates to the map pool, as well as weaponry, will surely affect competitive play over the next few weeks as players adapt to the January patch.