CS2 update brings back released maps, introduces MR12

Earlier today, Valve updated the limited test build for Counter-Strike 2 giving any of those lucky few with beta access the ability to play any of the nine maps released on CS2 on previous updates. Those nine maps are Office, Dust2, Italy, and the entire active duty map pool bar Inferno. While competitive matchmaking is not enabled for this update, players can choose any or all of the nine maps to play on casual or deathmatch servers.

Many of these maps got slight lighting upgrades and other minimal changes since their brief playable time in CS2, some of which are detailed in this Tweet. Very interestingly, another huge change has been made to competitive gameplay: the switch to MR12.

As was hinted in the code of the previous update, the CS2 limited beta has switched from MR15 to MR12. This means there are only 12 rounds to a half instead of the standard 15, and victory is achieved at 13 instead of 16 rounds. Changing the number of rounds per half would be a change that Counter-Strike has not seen since before the Global Offensive days.

With the change to maximum rounds, Valve has yet to augment the in-game economy. However, this is still just a limited test, and it's entirely possible that MR12 is just a test for the beta and the full release of CS2 will be played on the usual MR15 rule set.

If the official game changes to MR12, it is possible that the competitive scene may not follow suit. It's no secret that the current agreed-upon tournament rules already differ drastically from the in-game matchmaking rules. Some examples include server tick rate, the existence of overtime, and the amount and length of timeouts. In any case, it is all speculation until the official release of Counter-Strike 2.