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

Among the various announcements, including new weapons, skins, and maps, the 'blast radius improvement' has drawn particular attention. In team fight FPS games like 'Counter-Strike 2,' the bomb defusal mode is 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 while ensuring they escape before the blast. This blast radius mechanism is being overhauled in this update.

Previously, 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 now functions as a wave. The shockwave will now attenuate based on corners and walls. Consequently, players behind a wall may still be caught in the blast if they are too close, but those at a certain distance can now survive situations that would have been fatal in the past.

'Counter-Strike 2' is updating a 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 26-year-old change to the blast radius will influence gameplay.

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