CS2 update, May 22, 2026: IEM Cologne 2026 hub and trade-up improvements

• The IEM Cologne 2026 Major Hub is now available. Visit the hub to purchase tournament items, play the Pick'Em Challenge and more.
• Purchase a Cologne 2026 Viewer Pass to receive an upgradable Cologne 2026 Coin. With an active pass, you can upgrade your coin and earn rewards by playing the Pick'Em Challenge. Additionally, you will show up on the Active Pass Leaderboard where you can compare your Pick'Em Challenge performance to your friends.\
• Fixed a case of incorrect scoreboard timeline presentation in overtime.
• Fixed weapon entities disallowing pickup from showing pick up weapon hint text.
• Increased spectator in-eye flash amount.\
• Souvenir quality items can now be selected in Trade Up Contract alongside normal quality items. All Souvenir attributes will be removed from any souvenir items selected, and the result of a Trade Up Contract will be a single normal item of a quality one higher, from a collection of all of the items selected for exchange.
• Fixed a case where tire fire particles were flickering in the advanced video preview.
• Adjusted finger animation on Bayonet model.

The update brings full support for the IEM Cologne 2026 tournament with a new hub where players can purchase tournament items and participate in the Pick'Em Challenge. The Viewer Pass grants access to an upgradable coin with a reward system and a leaderboard to compare Pick'Em performance with friends. Beyond tournament content, several bugs have been fixed: scoreboard timeline display in overtime, weapon pickup hint text visibility, and increased spectator in-eye flash intensity for better visibility during observation.

Community server administrators will see minimal changes-the update mostly affects the client side and tournament-related functionality. However, the spectator experience improvements may prove useful when organizing tournaments and broadcasts on private servers.

The most significant change involves Trade Up Contracts: Souvenir quality items can now be mixed with normal quality items in a single contract. All souvenir attributes are removed, and the result is always a normal item one quality tier higher. This makes inventory management easier for players collecting items and calibrating rarity tiers.