It’s been a long, cold wait for a new CS2 Operation. Operations are often among the most exciting times in Counter-Strike, as they often result in plenty of new cases and skins, as well as new maps on occasion. But the latest, Operation Riptide, is now over three years old, leading to plenty of speculation about what’s next.
Let’s take a look at whether players should expect a new CS2 Operation in 2025.
Valve has been tight-lipped on any potential news of an upcoming CS2 new Operation. It has released several new cases since CS2’s launch, but that isn’t always indicative of an Operation.
Understandably, the community is becoming impatient. Other games like Valorant are receiving constant support, and CS players want the same. Players are taking their own approach to push through the content slump.
Credit: Valve
Some players are passing the time by learning to get better at CS2 community modes like Surf, while others are keeping up with the esports scene instead. Valve does need to keep players in the loop, so they don’t move to another rival game in the meantime.
In the past, new CS Operations have been a complete surprise. There’s usually no advance announcement, and they drop as part of a normal update. Because of this, you should always have one eye on CS2 esports news, as it’s likely where you’ll get the first indication of the CS2 first Operation release.
In CS:GO, Operation Riptide was the last operation released back in September 2021. It isn’t the longest wait that players have faced for a new Operation, since that honor belongs to Operation Hydra and Operation Shattered Web (May 2017 – November 2019). At 29 months, there’s an enormous gap between releases. As of February 2024, that record was equalized. With no Operation even still, if one does arrive, it will smash that previous record by some margin.
CS2 has been losing players since the initial hype of the release. Now would be the perfect time for Valve to drop a new Operation and recover those numbers.
For context, here are the full release dates of every Counter-Strike Operation to date:
Removing the 29-month anomaly, the wait for a new CS Operation never used to extend beyond a year. However, this is clearly something that Valve doesn’t really prioritize anymore. It has continued to add new community maps to CS2, which is something you’d usually find in an Operation instead.
One prevailing theory among the CS2 community is that Operations have now been replaced with the Armory. The Armory is a way for players to earn skins in-game, and like CS:GO Operations, it requires you to purchase a pass to take part. You can even buy multiple passes, which is VERY Valve. This would explain the massive wait since the last CS Operation.
Credit: Valve
It would be a shame to see CS2 Operations disappear for good. However, most of the elements that used to comprise an Operation are included in the game anyway – new maps, skins, and cases. The only thing missing are those tedious missions, and let’s be honest for a moment – did anyone really like those anyway?
Each Operation will add a bunch of community-created maps for players to play on in competitive matchmaking. This used to require gamers to purchase an Operation pass to get involved, however, this was changed for later Operations. Players also get access to Operation missions, which offer new tasks to complete that reward XP for completion. As well as all of this, Valve usually releases a slew of new cases and skins for players to collect. It’s at this time that CS Operations are the most popular, as everyone wants to get in on the fun. The longest CS:GO Operation to date is Operation Hydra, which ran from May 2017 to November 2017. It had perhaps the most content of any Operation, and saw the debut of fan-favorite Wingman, which is now a staple of CS2 matchmaking. Unfortunately, Operation Hydra’s maps didn’t stick around, despite there being seven of them. You can still see remnants of Operation Hydra in-game, with some players continuing to use the Operation Hydra Coin on their profile. The first CS:GO Operation was Operation Payback, and was active between April 2013 to August 2013. Compared to newer Operations, Operation Payback was extremely barebones in terms of new content being added to the game. This Operation had no missions, and only added new maps for players to enjoy. These were: These maps were removed from the game’s files back in 2016, making them completely unplayable. It’s sad to see some of the game’s early legacy disappear in this way. Valve uses the CS2 Operations as an opportunity to give back to the creator community. In the past, much of the money from the Operation passes has gone toward map creators featured in each Operation. It’s great that Valve does this, as it fosters a healthy community of creators always creating new content for the game.
What do CS Operations usually involve?
What was the longest Counter-Strike Operation?
What was the first CS:GO Operation?
Where does Counter-Strike Operation money go?
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