TL, DR:
- Existing ranking system is now on a per-map basis
- A new ranking system, called CS Rating, will be used for premier mode, with global and regional leaderboards
- Inferno has been added to the CS2 limited test
- CS2 invites will now go out to “as many eligible players as possible”. To be eligible means that you have an active matchmaking rank, have prime status, and be in a region where the test is available.
- MR12 is now officially implemented in competitive play.
Full release notes:
[ PREMIER ]
- Added Premier mode
- Added a visible CS Rating and CS2 Leaderboards. For more information visit the CS2 Leaderboard FAQ
- Added CSTV for spectating Premier matches
[ SOUND ]
- Fixed a case where grenade throw sounds would play twice
- Added music preview button to music volume sliders
- Various adjustments to sound effects
[ WORKSHOP TOOLS ]
- Added Paint Kit enhancements to CS2 Item Editor. Paint Kit finishes can now support:
- Enabling custom normal maps and AO for all styles
- Optional pearlescent mask
- Optional standard PBR roughness texture
- Custom Paint-By-Numbers masks (enabling Paint-By-Number masks for Spray-Paint style)
[ MAPS ]
- Added Inferno to all available game modes
- Various bug fixes and tweaks for all shipped maps
[ MISC ]
- Fixed a bug with hostage rescue prediction
- Enabled first-person shadow for carried hostages
- Fixed water effects showing in the wrong place when a bullet hit the water after penetration
- Various fixes for weapon finishes
- Replaced “Secondary Fire Hold” setting with “Zoom Button Hold”
- Fixed “Disable all voice comms” button in scoreboard
- “Temporarily Disable Incoming Chat” now mutes voice chat
- Various CS:GO settings will be imported when launching the CS2 Limited Test
- Fixed a case of inconsistent crouching with Duck Mode: Toggle enabled
- Updated the invulnerability visual effect
- Adjusted ‘sv_infinite_ammo 2’ grenade behavior to match CS:GO
- Desert Eagle third-person muzzle flash smoke now dissipates faster
- Continued iterating on smoke shape
- Adjusted Competitive mode match length to 12-round halves
[ CS:GO ]
- Recent ranked matches in “Your Matches” menu will now show Competitive, Wingman, and Premier matches
[ GAME AUTHENTICATION CODES ]
- Access to match history granted to third-party websites will now cover Competitive, Wingman, and Premier matches
- GetNextMatchSharingCode API used by third-party websites must now supply a match sharing code that is no more than 1 month old to obtain the next match sharing code.
As a follow up, I can confirm that I just got my CS2 invite. Everyone go check your CSGO game client now!