All major UI changes coming to Counter-Strike 2 so far

Counter-Strike 2 was announced several weeks after various sources speculated on its release. The User Interface (UI) has not been completely overhauled but has been reworked to provide a more grand experience to the player base. The in-game Heads-Up Display (HUD) has also changed.

The presence of a cleaner and more utility-based UI can help players navigate around Counter-Strike 2 better. Valve’s upcoming first-person shooter (FPS) title is expected to take full advantage of the Source 2 engine. There are various upgrades to the overall UI of the game from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO).

Let us take a closer look at the UI changes revealed for Counter-Strike 2 so far.

Note: All changes are present in the Limited Playtest version and might not be featured in the final release.

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Counter-Strike 2 UI is more intuitive and informative

Valve was radio silent for almost a month about details pertaining to Counter-Strike 2 up until it was officially released. The sudden announcement caught the community off-guard and surrounded it with even more hype. One of the major changes introduced to the title is the adjustments made to the UI.

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UI changes

The main menu of the CS:GO sequel has a similar setup and features various elements from the Panorama UI itself. However, the screen now has a top-aligned taskbar that includes the exit, home, and settings buttons on the left side.

The same bar also contains three more options in the center - Inventory, Play, and News. These tabs have a block-background animation that highlights the selection. The Friends and Socials menu remains on the right as an expandable window. The main screen now shows all the character models of the players in the squad.

The characters in Counter-Strike 2 can reflect real-time changes when switched to CT or T-side models and also display their showcase weapons. The overall animation on the home screen has increased and appears to be smoother.

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HUD changes

The Counter-Strike 2 HUD has received significant changes but has some similarities to its sequel. A quick team information bar is present at the center top of the screen and displays round wins for both sides alongside a round timer.

A more distinct visual of ally health points (HP) is featured under the player icons with a red accent on total health pool loss. Skull icons appear under the health bars of each player depending on the number of kills they secure. After the round ends, all enemy icons display the total damage they receive and deal to the player below their icons.

If a player dies, the HUD switches to spectator mode and displays the utilities, money, armor level, bomb carrier, and weapons under the ally player icons.

The lower section of the screen contains information such as total money in the round, HP and armor level icon, ammo count, and an icon list of all weapons and utilities of the player. The HP and armor icons are now center aligned and contain an additional icon in the middle that updates with every kill.

Card icons appear between the HP and ammo count, denoting the total kills a player has scored in the round. This is a unique method to implement a kill counter that is easily visible to the player base. Numbers are ingrained on each card showcasing the number of kills in the round with the first card having “1”, the next “2”, and so on.

The scoreboard remains almost untouched with a few font changes to improve visibility. After the match ends, the end screen presents the entire team along with the new player cards. It has information like Average Damage per Round (ADR), Head-Shot Percentage (HSP), and Kill-Death-Assist (KDA) beside the name and game titles.

The progression bar has also been reworked to introduce better animations and appears after all the player cards have been displayed.