'Counter-Strike 2' unveiled update details today (the 9th) alongside the launch of Season 5.

While the update includes various news such as new weapons, skins, and maps, the most notable change is the 'blast radius improvement.' In team-based FPS games like 'Counter-Strike 2,' the bomb defusal mode is considered a core staple alongside Team Deathmatch. In this mode, one team plants a bomb while the other must prevent or defuse it. Planting the bomb doesn't end the situation; the planting team must defend it from being defused while ensuring they escape before the explosion. This blast radius mechanism is now being revamped in this update.

Previously, the explosion damage was calculated based on a simple circular radius from the bomb, determined solely by straight-line distance regardless of walls or obstacles. With this update, the blast radius has been improved to function like a wave. The shockwave now attenuates based on corners and walls. As a result, players can now be caught in an explosion if they are too close, even if they are behind a wall, but they may also survive at a certain distance in situations where they would have previously been guaranteed a death.

This marks an improvement to the blast radius system that has been in use since the original 'Counter-Strike' launched in 2000. Given that 'Counter-Strike 2' already introduced fresh changes before its release—such as applying a physics engine to smoke grenades so that gunfire can clear them—there is growing anticipation for how this change, the first in 26 years, will breathe new life into gameplay.

Detailed information regarding 'Counter-Strike 2' Season 5 and the blast radius improvements can be found in the official Steam announcement.