Valve drops huge Counter-Strike 2 patch and it's not even out yet

It's easy to poke fun at Valve for being pretty poor at developing and maintaining games. The focus on Steam is pretty reasonable, considering that it's the most profitable angle of their business model, and that it actually needs a lot of support as the biggest gaming store that PC players have at their disposal.

Unfortunately, many feel that Valve's games suffer as a result. We still haven't seen the many sequels that fans have been clamouring for, and the titles that are released are pretty long overdue. This is especially true of Counter-Strike 2 - a new banger that isn't out yet but has players in the palm of its hand.

• Counter-Strike 2 has accidentally removed collaterals

Valve releases patch for Counter-Strike 2 without launching the game

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It looks like Valve is getting ahead of the curve, and although we can't quite tell if this is a good thing or not, the devs are launching a new patch for Counter-Strike 2. It's aimed at those who are lucky enough to access the CS2 beta. 

Even though the game is expected to release later in September (although there are worries it will be delayed) it's certainly good news that the shooter is getting ahead of the problems lying in wait.

It's pretty surprising, given that the beta itself is designed for testing the game and digging up problems. Still, it's certainly a good touch that the Counter-Strike team are willing to patch the beta itself to focus on other bugs that could lie in wait.

• 'Pointless to stay on the server': Three-times major winner flusha retires from CS

What is included in the Counter-Strike 2 update?

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The update comes with great fixes for beta players, including the ability to individually change player microphone volumes. Elsewhere, issues with animated avatars have been resolved, while there have been a few balancing changes made to weapons and items.

You can check out the full patch notes on Steam, and it's interesting to see what needs fixing, whether you're in the beta or not. At least Valve is actually paying attention to its games now, and maybe we can hope that they won't be abandoning CS2 quite like they did with CS:GO.